


Padfoot ( Book one)

by Wintero



Series: Padfoot Book series [1]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Friendship, Love, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Multi, Other, Series
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-16
Updated: 2021-03-23
Packaged: 2021-03-24 09:15:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 41
Words: 83,790
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30070038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wintero/pseuds/Wintero
Summary: { UPDATED VERSION!!}https://open.spotify.com/playlist/72eIduz9GDLIRKc3rtMH30?si=7h8vJbVcQRyB9dxHaLzRgw[This book also can be read on Wattpad if you are an avid commenter ! ]Sirius Black believed his life and future were all figured out, until a fateful decision from an old sorting hat changed it all forever. A decision that was the start of his world crumbling down , and him learning that everything he ever knew was not as it seemed.Find the first book of the story of Sirius Black here, by yours truly, Wintero.//////////////////////////////////////////////Check out the Prequal series also avalible to read on both A03 and Wattpad : 'The Spellfull Sixties' !
Relationships: James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Series: Padfoot Book series [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2212296
Comments: 59
Kudos: 4





	1. The Black Brothers

The summer of 1971 brought many things to the City of London, from strangely blistering heat, to endless days of sun. Every park, corner or market was filled with people attempting to soak in the rare weather, and the little communal garden sat directly across from twelve Grimmauld place was of no exception. Muggle children, from eleven, four and ten Grimmauld place ran up and down through the shade of the old trees as their parents rested back on the grass, shading their eyes with loving palms as to see through the brightness of the day, laughing as they threw balloons full of water at eachother so that, after a good few minuets, they were completely soaked through. This was before they would pause for some lunch, and then swiftly return back to playing. And so they continued about their fun, unaware that across the street, between the crack of thirteen and Eleven grimmauld place, a young boy with short raven hair and doe brown eyes watched them through a dusted window, sat propped up in his knees on an old rickety sofa that creaked with every one of his intrigued breaths. He'd often spent many hours by that window , watching like a cat trapped inside of its home, looking for any way to get out for some fresh air- but he would never dare to ask his mother. Oh how she would bare down on him like a furious dog if he were to have asked to cross the street to go to the park when she knew fully well that it was full to the brim with muggles. So he continued to sit and watch, until his gaze was startled away by a strange crash- one that was followed by another as he carefully climbed his way off of the sofa, standing barely above the height of its arm. And he crept out of the sitting room to the long green claded hall, spotting a largely cast shadow at the threashold of the kitchen. "-N-nearly there-", the boy came to the door after a moment, peering in to see another who looked very much like himself stood up on a stool on the counter, reaching for a closed jar of butterbeer biscuits that had been freshly brought from diagon alley. His hair was slightly longer than the others, and he had piercing blue eyes that strained as he reached higher, nearly tearing the edges of his waistcoat, "-Come on-". He leaned so far forward that he teetered on the edge of falling, swaying back and forth-and so the younger boy lunged forwards, grabbing onto the legs of the stool. "-Oh Salazaar - good job Regulus -".

"-What are you doing Sirius?-", hissed Regulus, in a fearful sort of way, "-If mother and father see you up there-".

"-They wont-", he assured, snatching for the jar again, "-They're too busy in Diagon Alley-".

"-Still-", he worried, watching as his brother finally got the jar, "-They could be back any second -".Sirius climbed down from the stool, sitting on his bottom on the counter so that his feet swung back and forth.

"-They wont be back for ages-", he stated, popping the lid from the pot, "-I heard Mum talking about getting ingreedients before she left- so i'm sure they wont re-appear for a while-". And he stuffed a biscuit into his mouth, then holding the pot out to Regulus. "-Besides- you like these too- they're the ones cousin Andy made that once-". Regulus frowned, opening his palm in declination.

"-Sirius....we aren't meant to speak about Andy- You know that-", he spoke in a hushed manner, afraid that someone would hear them.

"-So what?-", drawled Black with a yawn, "-Its not like she's dead Reggie- and as long as mothers not here it doesn't matter-".

"-She may as well be dead-", he responded, taking the stool down from the counter, "-She's blasted off of the tree-".

Sirius wrinkled his nose. "-Looks better than her picture-".

"- _Sirius_ -", warned Regulus.

"-Im joking-", he calmed, slipping from the counter, "-Can't you take a joke reggie?-".

"-Not when it isn't funny-", he responded solemnly, looking away for a guilty moment. And Sirius then shook his head, placing the lid back on the jar. "-How do you suppose your going to hide the fact that you've eaten those-". The boy shrugged. "-Sirius you'll get into trouble again- father will Cane you- or lock you upstairs forever-".

"-They're only biscuits-", announced Sirius, thumping the jar down on the kitchen table, right in a spot that had just been recently heavily polished by Kreacher, "-And I'm quite good at not getting into trouble when I don't want to-".

"-You're so stupid-", responded Regulus to the boys lie, following Sirius out of the kitchen and into the hall, where the air was far cooler and thin on account of the very, very high ceiling.

"-Why thats my middle name-", he bowed, walking backwards for a moment, "-And I'll remember that when I'm master of the house- and head of the family-".

Regulus chuckled. "-Head of the family?- You wont be head of the family- thats fathers job-". Sirius then turned back around , seizing his little brother by the shoulders.

"-Oh but I will!-", the boy proclaimed proudly, "-I'm the best fighter- not to mention the familys Oldest son in our generation ,which makes it my Birth right....and i'm smart too-".

"-If you're so smart-", he cocked his head to the brownish engraved wand in Sirius pocket that he always kept with him , "Then you would have thought to use that instead of nearly falling from the counter- it would have been far easier".

-And instead of giving some kind of remark, Sirius smirked, enticing his brother to speak further. "-Oh _really_ ?-".

"-Yes really-", he stated, seeming rather too knowing, "-I did it to get the book from the top of mothers shelf yesterday when you were playing in the par....". He saw his brothers smirk turn into more of a simper.

"-Regulus you sly dog- I didn't think you had it in you? -", he shunted his shoulder in a brotherly way, "-What book was it?- tell me Reggie?-".

"-W-Why does it matter?-".

"-Why does it matter?!-", he almost yelled, "-It matters because I say it matters?- ". He put on a far more grand and refined voice. "-I must know what....mixture of dusted pages...enticed my dear little brother to break the rules beyond his nature-".

Regulus smiled at the rather silly way Sirius had spoken. He sounded like their father. "-Fine....It was a book on... magical beasts-".

"-Well that sounds boring -", replied Sirius, "-And what spell did you use to get it ?-".

"-Levio-".

"- _Leviosa_ , of course-", finished the boy with prideful eyes, reaching forwards to fix a wild piece of hair atop his Regulus' head with a smile, "-Well- seeing as you've already been practicing your magic -You want to go and duel with me Reggie- One on one-".

"-You'll knock me off of my feet like last time-", laughed Regulus, imagining himself flying across the room, "-Not today- another time-". 

"-Another time then- You promise -", smiled Sirius eagerly.

"-Yes-", he affirmed , looking up to the grandfather clock that loomed beside them, ticking along in a neverending sort of way way, "-Time seems to be going quite slowly today-".

"-Really?-", wondered Sirius. He'd thought that the time had gone quite quickly. It had only felt like he'd been awake for minuets, yet it was already afternoon. However, Sirius had spent the entire morning entertaining himself by running around the house after bewitched pieces of paper that he'd drawn careful pictures on in an eloquent way. "-How about we play a game-". He thought through the selection that would be accessable without one of Mothers study keys. "-Gobstones?-".

"- _Gobstones_?-", scoffed Regulus, "-You never want to play that with me because last time it got all stuck in your hair-".

"-Thats not true-", he argued, "-You just alway prefer to play with that ugly big eared monster of an elf. Anyone would think he was your friend -".

"- You say that like you have all the friends in the world ,Sirius-", he mocked, fixing the shoulder of his shirt.

"-I don't need all the friends in the world-", his brother argued, "-But when I get to Hogwarts I swear- I'll be the most popular one in school-".

"-Really?-".

"-Of course. Everyone loves Sirius Black- I'm irri....irri....you know what I mean-", finished Sirius, before he teetered from heel to toe. "-So? Gobstones?-".

/////

"-Gobstones- honestly Sirius-", laughed Orion, placing down his knife and fork on his plate as he looked upon his sons who were covered in the washed out remnants of horrible sticky liquid , "-Clearly you lost then?-". Sirus was the most covered, looking much like a drowned rat- and Walburga turned her nose up at the state of him, passing Regulus a handkerchief. "-I do hope your room is not so messy too-". Kreacher, who had finished cooking dinner for the family, siezed his bony shoulders up distastefully. Of course there would have been a mess. There was never not a mess left behind after the Black brothers had been playing together.

"-I only lost because Reggie plays it every day-", argued Black, biting a chunk out of some steak instead of cutting it.

"-No- you're just bad at Gobstones-".

"-No-", he returned, leaning his elbows on the table.

"-Sirius , manners-", his mother hissed quietly, beneath a line of candle light, which only illuminated her piercingly menacing eyes. And Black took his elbows from the table , begining to saw at his steak- but he did it so roughly that the knife scraped against the fine china, causing Kreachures ears to flap over in pain. "-Sirius!-".

"-What?-", he reponded nonechalantly, "-I cut it-". Her lip quivered in distaste .

"-Right -", Walburga then began, taking a breath to regain her composure, "-Everything you need for Hogwarts has been placed in the attic for safe keeping- which means I better not find any of it in your room or missing from the face of the earth entirely -Its all new and fresh equiptment. Quills, books, robes and such- And I have instructed Kreacher to press everything so that its just perfect-". Kreacher murmered beneath his breath. "-What was that?-". 

"-I- Uh-". Kreacher glanced over, spotting Regulus giving him a slightly concerned look. "-Nothing Ma'am- Kreacher only said that he lives to serve the _noble_ house of Black-". She narrowed her gaze at him as he gulped.

"-I do suppose you are very ready to go-", continued Orion , sitting up straight to raise his glass - peering at the liquid within with his beady eyes, "-I was rather excited to begin Hogwarts myself .... Oh and the fun that followed my arrival was most definitely worth the anticipation ....-". He smiled with a reminiscent look about him. "-I caused quite the bit of mischief-And I was brilliant at not getting caught.... Though I always made sure to remember what was resting on my shoulders- and that came before all else-".

Sirius paused, gulping down a lump of his food. "-Which is?-", he asked intriguedly.

"-Your reputation, and the reputation of our family of course-", finished Walburga grandly to her husbands appeasement , "-Not only as the Blacks- but as members of this advancing society. We are in a time of great judgement and change, with the world seeming to be ever evolving. Whatever you do will impact us from now on -". She looked to her husband, who gave her a slightly sinsiters look. And Regulus furrowed his brows, not much liking the way in which his mother had spoken. It was...hauntingly foreboding- Yet Sirius took little notice of it. "-You should strive to set an example of what a true Pureblood Black is-".

"-Very correct-", Orion confirmed with a serious voice."-After the rumours that cousin of your caused-", Walburga glared at her husband as he spoke, "-that is a very important task-".

"-Exactly-", agreed his wife , still seeming unamused to have heard the girls name uttered. And she leaned forwards slightly, ensuring her words were direct. "-We've trained you from a young age...taught you languages, art, dancing , calculations, potions, flying and just about everything that you could need for your education - which is far more than me and your father had in our day- so the least that you could do, Sirius, is show us the fruits of our labour-". Orion bobbed his head once in agreement, going back to eating his food. "-Do you Understand?-".

"Yes, Mother", he gave her a short, sharp smile.

-And Walburga waited a moment, before opening her mouth again."-Also, might I add that you are young man now- not a child-", spoke the woman firmly as the boy ate, "-which means that...well- any spurts of misbehaviour shall not be taken so lightly in future....you should be careful to remember that-". Black nodded his head, not seeming all that bothered by the notion. What worse punishments could his father give him for misbehaving than he already did? He surely couldn't think of anything.

"-Mother-", then spoke Regulus, "-...Could we go out tommorow?- Me and Sirius-". 

"-Alone?- I shan't think so-", she shook her head. 

"-With Kreacher then?-", offered Regulus.

"-No-", finished Walburga, "-Especially not with so many _Muggles_ about-". 

"-Besides- Your cousin , Aunt and Uncle are coming over for dinner tommorow-". 

"-What?-", then breathed Walburga, "-You didn't tell me of this?-". 

"-I don't have to-", replied Orion, "-Besides- it isn't like Cygnus is not your brother-". 

"-He's a drunkard- thats what he is-", hissed the woman, to which Sirius and Regulus looked to eachother, sniggering, "-What even is the occasion?-". 

"-A celebration-", he replied, "-Of the engagement between Narcissa and the Malfoy boy-". 

"-Engagement?-", Regulus seemd confused, "-But weren't they already betrothed-". 

"-Not in formality- but in _technicality_ -", returned Walburga in a dismissive manner, "-Part of your Aunts favoritism and foolishness. It was her idea of 'moving with the times'- Stupid wo-". 

"-Walburga-", snapped Orion as though the woman was a troublesome child- And she closed her mouth, falling silent.

//////

"-Did you hear mother?-", boasted the Sirius as he and Regulus sat in the parlour, with the elder Black tapping at the keys of a grand and ancient piano as his brother warmed himself by the fire. "-Im setting an example-".

"-Merlin help us all-", chuckled Regulus, glancing over from his warm perch before the hearth, "-Why aren't you playing anything?-".

"-I'm too excited to play-", the boy returned in a giddy way, "-I can't wait to go to Hogwarts ,Regulus-".

Regulus frowned a little. "-I'm sure...".

"-I'll finally get out of this miserable house-", continued Black, not noticing his little brothers hint of dismay, "-Give me a week- I'll be the king of Hogwarts-".

"-Or the fool-".

"-Oi- you cheeky f-fish-", he retorted, having almost swore at the boy- to which Regulus laughed. "-Yeah thats what you are- a fish-".

"-Well thats ironic-".

"-I know- You'd be the worlds worst fish-", jested Sirius, "-you can't even swim-".

"-Nor can you-", snarked Regulus.

"-Well- I'm not a fish-", he replied plainly.

"-No - you're a dog-", teased Regulus.

"-oh come one-", whined Sirius, "-I picked up one Muddy stick -".

"-And put it in your mouth-", elaborated his brother.

"- BELLATRIX DARED ME TO!!-", he defended with a chuckle, "- And Andy scolded her for ever....-". He met his brothers gaze, seeming to deflate a little. "-I know-I know....no talking about Andromeda-". Regulus nodded. "-I have to start this setting an example business -".

"-That would mean learning to behave-", returned Regulus.

"-I do-", he defended , "-most of the time-".

"-I've seen rats that behave better than you-".

Sirius shuddered. "- ugh- I hate rats-", he spoke, then coming to smirk after a passing, and rather humorous thought, "- I recon thats what animal father is-".

"What- why?-".

"-He just reminds me of one...or a round mouse-", explained Sirius, "-and mother is more of a...um..-".He couldn't think of a creature for the woman and her often severe attitudes towards everything.

"-A crow?-", offered Regulus, to which Sirius sniggered.

"Yes- a crow-", And he flapped his arms giving his amused brother the best Walburga 'squawk' he could.


	2. A brothers promise

"-Sirius-", Regulus tapped on his brothers bedroom door carefully, stepping back as it opened to reveal Black all in his night clothes with a great smile on his face. After spending some time in the parlour, the brothers, instructed by Kreacher, headed up to bed, going about their seperate ways. Yet the younger Black boy, well he just couldn't seem to sleep."-Hi -". Sirius' bedroom was the second largest in the house, with a great window and seat beneath, surrounded by dust and empty space, until the air came to meet a frightening dresser that, when they were younger, Sirius had convinced Regulus that a ghost had resided within it. Yet he'd discovered it to have not been true after a game of hide and hex, when he'd found nothing within it but clothes and a few pairs of shoes. And there was no colour in the place, which made it appear as though it had all been sucked out by a great vaccume. But it had always been like that. They knew no different.

Sirius shot him a bewildered look. It was rather late for Regulus to have shown up to his bedroom door. Normally at that time he was either sleeping or playing with his 'elf friend'. Similarly to his brother, Sirius had not been able to sleep either- yet his cause was excitement, and the thought of what the future held. He was entirely exstatic . "-Hey-", he looked him up and down, spotting a box in the boys grasp, "-Wizarding chess?-". Regulus brought it up into view, confirming the boys suspicions. Wizarding chess was one of Sirius's specialties. He always won....most likely because he played alone and often cheated.

"-Its your favorite, isn't it-". He'd, after realising that there was no chance of him getting any sleep, instructed Kreacher to retreive the game from its perch in their fathers study, which he was first hesitant to do. But after the promise of a good game of gobstones at the next oppertune time he was loosened up, and quickly set off to get it. "-I thought that we should play, seeing as we wont get another chance for a while-". It was the end of August, and coming to the day that Sirius would have to leave. A day that Regulus was dreading. He was already bored enough with Sirius there. He hadn't a clue of what he would do when he was gone. And Sirius smiled, opening the door wider for his little brother to enter. So Regulus hopped in, placing the board on his stiff bed. "-White or Black-", he asked as Sirius walked to the window, closing it.

"-White-", he responded, listeining to the pieces spill out of the box, "-You are always Black-".

"-Yes-", he held up the white queen that had a chip in her crown, "-Because the white queen never fixes herself properly- now come on-". Sirus stepped back over to his bed, sitting down on the black blanket across from Regulus, placing his pieces down on the board. And they began to play , commanding the little statues ,starting with the Knights and then the rooks, across the board, neering eachother as the moonlight from beyond the closed window trickled into the room, illuminating the near barren space with a rather heavenly glow. And after about fifteen minuets of greatly intent playing, Regulus' knight that had made it all the way through Sirius' defences loomed unfortunately near to his queen. "-Im going to get you-".

"-Unlikely-", smirked Black, clearing his throat, "-Pawn, move two spaces to the left-". And both brothers watched as a pale pawn hopped across the board, knocking Regulus's knight to pieces.

"-Hey!-", Regulus complained, "-You cant do that!-".

"-Who says?-", Sirius rested back onto his palms.

"-T-The rules-", stuttered Regulus, grasping for the piece of paper they usually discarded, "-Here !- Its right here-".

"-Well-", Sirius stated with a yawn, "-Sometimes you need to make up your own rules-".

"-B-But-". Regulus threw the paper back to the bed. "-If you make your own rules then what is the point of having rules at all?-", he exclaimed, to which his brother shrugged nonechalantly.

"-Rules are annoying anyway-".

"-Sure they're annoying-", he argued calmly, "-but they're neccissary to maintain order!-Without rules what do you have?!- Chaos!-".

"-Woah-", Sirius sat forwards, holding his hands out infront of him, "-Calm down with the passion Reggie. I didn't know you cared about _rules_ so much?-". He'd never heard his brother argue something with so much _gusto_ , and it felt as though the words had more meaning than just chess.

"-I-I dont-", he looked down a little guiltily, having taken out his real worrys through Sirius' cheating, which he had not meant to do at all. And Black, of course, recognised this, grabbing a pillow to place between him and the metal frame of his bed. He knew there was another reason as to why he had so suddenly turned up to his bedroom door with a box of Wizarding chess than just to spend time with him. There was always another reason with Regulus.

"-You're worried about me- arent you?-", he stated knowingly. It was easy to tell when Regulus was worried. He would never look the person he was worried about in the eye, and would always start fixing his clothes as he did in that moment, shifting about inside of them.

"-You- No....-", he could feel his brothers stare turn ever more intense, "-Okay... _Maybe_.... Going to Hogwarts is going to be a big change and....you'll be all alone in that castle. And sure Cissy will be there, but only for so long. And theres not many Purebloods for you to be friends with, they're all older than you or meaner-". He took a deep, long breath. "-Theres a good chance that you will be all by yourself-". He moved the board from the space between them, careful to not disrupt the game. "-And like mother said at dinner....you can't go getting into trouble...".Regulus had once thought that the worst thing that could have happened in their family was getting punished in the way that Sirius often was...but after Andromeda had been burned off of the tree, he'd become far more aware of himself and his brother. He was worried that the silliest of things could condemn him to the same fate, having not been told himself as to why she had been truely burned away.

Sirius frowned, seeming a little more serious than usual. "-Regulus-", he placed a hand on his shoulder. Yet the action felt a little alien to Regulus, who wasn't much accustomed to the sincerity of Sirius Black. "-I wont get into any trouble....and I wont be alone- I'll make friends- and have lots of fun- and I'll write to you to tell you all about it -". He then jumped up from the bed so that the entire ground shuddered, placing his hand on his heart - and his brother laughed.

"- _Sirius_ -". He grabbed a pillow, throwing it at him.

"-I , Sirius Orion Black the third-". His brother smiled even wider at how silly the addition of 'the third' sounded. "-Swear to never do anything to harm, endanger or damage the outwards reputation of the Black family . I swear to behave appropriately, have my manners, and keep my wits about me...most of the time-".

"-All of the time-", corrected Regulus .

"-Fine-", he finished, "-All of the time-". Sirius then hopped back into his spot on the bed, patting his brothers back. "-Your turn-".

"-What?-". Regulus cocked his brow. "-You want me to promise something?-".

"-Yes-", breathed Sirius, edging his head to the middle of the room, "-Do it-". He began to shove him up from the bed.

"-Okay-okay-Im going-", he stumbled to the spot where his brother had stood, clearing his throat as though about to convey a speach- and Sirius gave him a little hushed aplause , looking very amused with himself. "-I , Regulus Arcturus Black, the second Regulus in our family lineage-". He searched his elder brothers hopeful eyes for a moment, before cultivating something to say. "-Promise to always be Sirus Blacks brother....no matter the storm or weather that befall us....We were born the Black brothers and shall die as such-". Sirius nodded his head, spinning his hand around. "-A-And I promise to....always come to you for help?- and maybe homework?-".

"-Regulus-", he laughed, "-did you just swear to make me do your homework?-".

"-Well-", the boy placed his hands on his hips, "-I couldn't miss the oppertunity-". Sirius suddenly lunged from his bed , pinning Regulus to the ground. "-Ow !-Ow!- your heavy!-".

"-You know you really are sly-", he leaned out of the way as the boys limbs flapped around , "-I said all nice things and you swore to make me do your homework!-".

"-Your crushing me-", cried Regulus dramatically, "-Your going to kill me!-".

"-Oh shove off Regulus!-", He grabbed his arm, pinning it to his back just as the door opened. And both boys paused, turning to look at the horrified expression on their mothers face who was all wrapped up in her sleepware. "-Mother-", Sirius quickly scrambled up from the ground, dragging Regulus with him, who gulped, inching behind the boy.

"-It is one am -", she growled, "-What on earth are you two savages doing?-". 

"-S-sorry mother-", apologised Regulus first- which seemed to annoy the woman even more.

"-I know for a fact that you were not the one to have started this, Regulus-", she placed her hands on her hips, glaring at Sirius, "-Is this how you believe a young man should behave?-". 

"-We were only playing-", he defended.

"-A young man does not play like a fiendish dog-", she hissed, pointing to the door, "-Regulus, return to your room-". 

"-But-". 

"-Go-". He looked up to Sirius with solem eyes, before following his mothers instruction,who then slapped Black on the side of the head quite firmly. Yet the impact was made all the more painful by the selection of rings placed upon her fingers.

"-Ow-", he winced as she turned around, heading towards the door. And she took one last look at him from the doorway before wrinkling her nose. 

"-If I have to come up here again for you making noise, a slap will be the least of your worries-", and she slammed the door shut, leaving the boy stood alone. 

"-Merlin-", Sirius rubbed the side of his head, stepping over to a mirror in the corner. And he parted his hair, spotting a great reddened mark upon his skin.


	3. The meal

There were two meals served at twelve Grimmauld place, no matter the season or occasion. Breakfast and dinner, or more known to the family, the time for introvertedness and the time for extrovertedness. The contents of Dinner were always interchangable to the occasion, containg bland renditions of local an special elitist Wizardry dishes crafted by Kreacher himseld, who was, for a lack of better terms, not such as kicthen wiz. Yet the Blacks themself, most especially Walburga and Orion, were so often too busy chattering about their opinions of others over the feast that they would never notice the odd extra pinch of salt, or dash of pepper that had allowed itself to have a wild time about the plate. Despite this, dinner, for the Blacks, was the most important meal of the day. It was almost a reward for living through another twenty-four hours, falling at nine pm on the dot. Dinner was also a time for relations and conversation, adverse quite so to the breakfasts which were conducted that were mostly silent and as bland as the slop that they ate, which Sirius lifted with his spoon, smirking to his brother. "-MMm- Snot-". 

"-Eugh- _Sirius_ -", Regulus placed down his spoon, looking to the House Elf that was slaving away at the counters, scrubbing the same spot that he had scrubbed three times at least as his brother amused himself with his own disgusting joke , "-Kreacher-". The Elf paused, looking to Regulus who frowned. "- Merlin...mother lashed you....hasn't she-". 

"-Good-", snarked Sirius, wrinkling his nose at the bowl, "-I can't eat it now I said it looks like snot-". 

"-Well its you're own fault-". Regulus examined the elf, noticing a heafty amount of....what looked like paper around his hands. "-Those look terrible....are you awefully hurt-". 

"-Would you stop worrying about that house-elf-", returned Black, "-Salazaar-".

"-You wouldn't like it of someone lashed your hands and nobody cared-", argued Regulus in defense of the house elf, who, despite his constantly grumpy look, took a moment to smile.

"-Kreacher Is fine-", the spoke the elf, "-Kreacher spoke out of turn and murmered....kreacher deserved to be punished-". 

"-Yes- You did-", Regulus and Sirius sat up straight as Walburga entered with an armful of envelopes pressed to her chest- to which Kreacher squeaked in a fearful sort of way, rushing to continue his scrubbing of the counter as she came to sit down , allowing them to sprawl across the table. They were in all different colours, shapes and sizes, being clearly not all adressed to a single person. "-I do hope you both were not talking about me behind my back-". 

"-No-", chimed the boys, with the younger one sounding quite less convicted, watching as his mother raised a knife to remove the first seal, following each movement attentively with his eyes.

"-Good-", she affirmed, fliping open the paper to scan it as the boys gave eachother curious looks. Walburga Black often received letters, but not so many in one sitting. Yet she seemed to act regularly, so they both began to question if they had missed some kind of event or something else. 

"-So many letters?-", Regulus finally asked as Sirius began to mix about his spoon in his bowl. 

"-Yes-", Walburga folded the letter back closed, "-I have decided to take your Aunt and Uncles letters for them-". She'd spoken as though it were the most normal thing- collecting someone elses letters. 

"-What?- Have they gone blind or something?-", asked Sirius, reaching for a letter- to which his mother swatted away the boys hand. 

"-Not physically-", she muttered beneath her breath, "-And I would appreciate it if you didn't suddenly decide to grab at things that do not belong to you-". Sirius reeled back his hand, coming to place it by his side. 

Regulus nestled into his seat, leaning towards Sirius as their mother took to focusing on the letters again, reading them each carefully and making sure to examine the waxy seal on the back. "-What do you think she mean by that?-". Sirius shrugged, watching as her brows wrinkled- Yet he must have been staring rather intensley , as her head shot up to his level. 

"-Sirius- You'd best mind your business boy-", she warned more firmly this time , waving the knife about in his direction. 

"-Well I can't help being curious when you say something weird like that-", returned the boy. 

"- I suppose you better learn to then-", she brought the letters closer to her so that there was no chance of the boys sneaking a peak, "-Do you have nothing better to do than sit there and gawp at me- How about you go and practice your playing- I shall be wanting to show it to your aunt an Uncle-". 

"-Why?-", asked Sirius. She'd never wanted such a thing before when they came to dinner. Yet the last time they had come was....prior to Andromedas...leave. 

"-Because I said so-", she waved him away, to which Sirius stood, taking his bowl over to the counter.

"-What about me mother?-", asked Regulus, watching his mother peer up at Sirius from beneath her eyebrows as he left, listening as the boy made his way up the steps. And she eventually sat up straight folding her palms. "-Mother?-", she turned her gaze silently upon him, "-.....what?-". 

"-Sirius-", she began formally, "-Tell me.....what do you think of him going to Hogwarts-". 

Regulus seemed rather...concerned in the direct way that his mother had spoken to him. "-I....-", he made sure to remember his brothers promise , "-Well I suppose I shall miss him...a bit-". He gave her a sincere look. "-But I am sure that he will be fine-". Walburga didn't seem quite so convinced as Regulus . It wasn't actually often that she would ask Regulus such a thing, yet she was curious as to what he would say. Of course she was Sirius' mother, and she knew of his nature a good deal. Yet Regulus was his brother....and siblings saw things in eachother that no others could. She knew that well and proper. And Kreacher frowned, placing Sirius' bowl in the sink. 

"-Well he better-", the woman than spoke, "-Or that boy will sorely regret it-". 

/////////

It was only a handful of hours later that Walburga, cladded in her usual deep green gown, stood in the centre of the hall, watching as the jittering Kreacher opened the door, leaving her to face Cygnus' drunken smile and Druella's shameful frown, draped in makeup as it always was. And the womans frown seemed to deeper upon the glare she recieved from the thinner woman. "-Sister-", exclaimed Cygnus in an obliviously merry way , coming to greet her with a kiss on the hand, "-It has been far too long-". And his entrance warrented the woman a good look a Narcissa, who stood, as always, in a luxurious dress, pretty as anything. Yet this time , planted on her finger, was a diamond larger than life itself, which she eagerly presented to her Fiance's delight. "-What a blessed day it is-". 

"-Of course-", she replied, coming face to face with Druella, who avoided her gaze, "-It seems that one of your daughters have finally become a proper young lady-". She slowly met her gaze. "-I suppose congratulations should be in order-". 

"-Of course-", hissed Druella in a numb manner, turning to take Narcissa's hand to present it to the woman , "-Look how large it is- and how much was it worth again dearest-". 

Lucius chuckled wealthily, tapping his cane at the ground. "- Well it was my mothers- but I recall it being in the nine-thousand Galleon range-". 

"-Merlin-", Walburga smirked to herself, "-Well I must say that someone is compensating for something-". Lucius' smile seemed to fade a little, to which she falsley laughed. "-I am only joking young man-". 

"-Yes- thats my wife-", stated Orion, appearing at the base of the steps with a grin- and Walburga quickly dispersed her amused look , "-Full of jokes-". He came quickly to greet Cygnus with a firm handshake. "-It's great to see you old boy-". 

"-You too-", he replied, watching Orion turn his gaze upon Druella. 

"-And my, must I say- you are looking ever so healthy my dear-". Walburga felt a jelious chill spike its way up her spine, glaring at her husband out of the corner of her eye. "-You get more and more pretty each time I see you-". 

"-Theres no need to flatter me ,Orion-", she chuckled, seeing the look on Walburga's face, "-But carry on if I-". 

"-Its cold-", stopped Walburga snappily, "-Shall we make our way to the Parlour - I am sure Sirius and Regulus are _waiting_ for us-". 

"-Oh my dear Cousins-", Narcissa, at the announcement of their names, immediately slipped from her fiance's side like the young girl she was, running eagerly towards the steps- which left Lucius looking a little alone and as though he were surrounded by a ravaging pack of wolfs, which caused him to have to take the deepest, heaviest of breaths to hold his demeanour. 

"-Come with me boy-", then instructed Orion, giving a glance to Cygnus who looked quite confident, "-We must talk on our way up the steps- I wish to know you better-". 

"-Of course-", smiled Lucius, giving a wink to Druella before following the men as Kreature struggled to close the door, bringing the hall back into its natural state of darkness- at which Walburga and Druella began their journey to the Parlour too, seeming far less estatic to be in eachothers company. And when they arrived upstairs to the open door of the parlour, the men laughed at the sight of Regulus flapping his arms about to get away from Narcissa's embrace as Sirius sat on the piano stall, seeming a little repulsed. 

"-Narcissa-", warned Druella, "-Don't strangle the boy-". 

She finally released Regulus , examining his face with greatful eyes. "-Look at you- you get bigger each time I see you-". Cygnus, despite the display of affection, immediately made for a cupboard in the far corner of the room , taking out a bottle of wine from within as the Adults found themselves a seat before the fire. 

"-Kreacher-", then instructed Walburga , "-Ensure that dinner is well on the way-". 

"-Yes Ma'am -", replied the elf, glancing to Regulus who gave him a smile as Narcissa sat down beside her mother, not even bothering to greet Sirius. 

"-Now-", smiled Walburga, "-Sirius- say hello to Lucius- and you too Regulus-". Lucius turned his head around to the boy who glared at him. There was no way on earth that he was going to greet him, and rather truthfully, there was no way that Lucius really wanted to be greeted by Sirius. There was a thick, tense thread between them, tugged by being in eachothers presence.

"-I believe that Sirius may not much like that idea-", chuckled Lucius truthfully , "-last time we met we did not end on such good terms- but I assure you- that was a few years ago...when I was still...childish-". He smiled falsley, gritting his teeth. "-Its _great_ to see you Sirius-". Sirius smiled smugly back as Regulus came to sit on the carpet at Narcissa's feet. 

"-Sirius-", then spoke Walburga grandly, "-Why don't you play for us- I am sure that everyone would love to hear it- ". She smirked to Druella. "-He's been learning Mozart sonata in C Minor quite avidly-". 

"-Ah- I see-", replied the woman distastefully as Sirius readied himselfs on the keys. She was not stupid as to what Walburga was attempting to do, and so, decided to play at the same game."-Lucius-". Sirius paused upon the announcement of his name , smiling to himself mischeviously. "-On the way here you were telling us about your O.W.L.'s results- were you not?-". Sne smiled. "-Why do you not tell Walburga, she is quite avid about education-". 

"-Oh- Yes- Splendid Idea- ", he smiled in a way that was far to overly proud of himself , "-I got a-". Sirius struck down on the first chord rather harshly, starling Narcissa a little- and Regulus , quick to realise what his brother had done, bit the insides of his mouth as not to laugh. "-What I was saying was that I got all 'O's'-". Walburga took a moment to examine Sirius as his fingers danced across the key. "-And Slughorn stated that-". Sirius struck the keys again, making Lucius' eye twitch. "-That I am one of the greatest students that he had ever taught-". 

"-Well- isn't that brilliant-", she answered , clearly not interested. 

"-Thats Marvelous actually-", returned Cygnus, pouring himself a glass of drink in the corner of the room , "-Better than you did If I rightly recall-". Her jaw locked angrily as he brought the glass to his lips. "-I mean- We did have certain set backs in those days-". 

"-Yes-", affirmed Walburga, "- Our Divination teacher was a textbook for the final four years of our education-". Druella made a sound that sounded somewhere between a laugh and entitled snort. "-Something funny?-". 

"-Not at all dear-", replied the woman quickly, unable to hold down her own amusement at the fact that the 'great Walburga' had failed such a subject. 

"-I actually came top of my class in divination-", continued Lucius, not much making the situation any better, "-It was quite the grand thing actually- the teacher referred to me as the-". Sirius slammed down on the keys again, to which a pestered look came over Lucius' face. "-referred to me as-". He did it again, this time holding the note for longer. 

"-Sirius, boy-", chuckled Cygnus, "-Go easy on those keys-". 

"-Yes father-", smiled the boy, going back to playing again as Lucius cursed him beneath his breath. And he carefully slipped his wand from his pocket, flicking it back over the arm of the sofa so that the piano lid fell forwards, almost catching his hands. 

"-Oh Merlin-", Druella grasped her heart, "-Dear that nearly killed me-". Walburga rolled her eyes as Sirius re-opened the lid, starting to play again as Lucius gave him a rather content look. 

"-Sirius- have you seen my ring?-", Narcissa then stated, holding up her hand to grasp some of the attention of the room . 

"-No-", he replied, jumping his fingers between two keys. 

"-Well look at it then boy-", answered Walburga. 

Sirius then slowed his playing, looking over his shoulder at the ring. "-I'm surprised that's not made of hair care potion-". Narcissa smirked to Lucius' slight embarissment.

"-Sirius-", hissed Walburga, "-Do not insult our guest-". 

"-Frankly- Walburga- your sons words do not taint me?-". The room immediately fell silent at his words, with Regulus' eyes opening quite wide in shock. "-What?-". 

"-You call me _Mrs Black_ \- or Madame if you are feeling extravigantly formal -", she corrected lowly, "- I am not your friend, nor are we aquainted enough to be considered so- and you are younger than me by a healthy amount of years- Is that clear". 

"-Yes Mrs Black-". Sirius snorted at how his voice cracked a little as he spoke , having to hide his face beneath his hair. 

"-Anyhow-", spoke Orion, "-Tell me boy- what are your plans for the future-". 

Sirius, after containing his amusement, decided to give his input. "-Modelling?-". Regulus chuckled. 

"- _Actually_ -", Lucius corrected, "-I don't have much or an idea of what i may do- but I have been looking into Ministry work- yet I have no need to work. I shan't ever find myself 'short of change'-". 

"-But you do have need for work-", returned Walburga firmly, "-A lazy man has not the same worth as one with value-". She folded her palms atop her knee. "- All Blacks are people of purpose. Laziness is not a high herolded virtue-".

"-O-Of course-", replied Lucius, "-I wouldn't dream of being a lazy man....as you are aware....I am also in help of...them.....that is another reason why I am considering putting working in a category of latter imoportance-". Regulus frowned as Lucius, not understanding what he meant- which was very unlike the family, who shared knowing looks. 

"-Only because of our Bellatrix-", praised Walburga as though the girl was her own child. 

"-We shouldn't speak of this infront of them-", Narcissa then hissed, noticing Regulus' attentiveness. 

"-Quite- Yes-", Affirmed Walburga, then coming to clap her hands, "-We may speak of such matters over dinner- Kreacher-". With a pop the Elf appeared, wearing a dark apron that made him look like a little haggard bakers wife. "-Set the table, we will be making our way downstairs-". Regulus went to stand, when Walburga cleared her throat again. "-Sirius and Regulus shall be eating up here, in the parlour-". 

Sirius stopped his playing. "-But mother-", complained Regulus, "-I- I want to spend more time with cousin Narcissa-". The boy was very clearly lying. His brother could tell. 

"-No-", she replied sternly, to Narcissa's clear dismay, "-Let us stand-". All of the adults rose at the same time, with Orion and Druella being the first to make for the door, followed by Lucius. And Walburga , as Cygnus made his way over from the cupboard where he had loomed at the same time, snatched the glass from his hand. 

"-Sister-". 

"-Don't sister me-", she retorted as though being his mother, "-You are going to drink yourself into an early grave-". 

Cygnus snatched the glass back. "-I'm sure that statement would affect me if I really cared...or adversely....you did-", and he swigged back the rest of his drink, stomping from the room as Sirius shifted on his piano seat, coming to stare at his mother, who seemed a little peturbed. 

"-Mo-". 

"-Do not bother us-", she spoke quickly, before stomping after her brother, slamming the door shut. And both boys could tell that whatever their uncle had uttered to the woman had very clearly upset her. He actually, often, seemed to be the only person who could handle such a task. 

"-Hey Reg-", then chuckled Sirius, "-Did you like my playing?-". And Regulus couldn't help but laugh. 

"-You are lucky mother didn't realise what you were doing-". 

"-What can I say-", he smirked, "-I'm a lucky guy-". Regulus shook his head. "-And Lucius is....too-". 

"-Proud-". 

"-Thats it-", he confirmed, "-He's not right for Narcissa... I hate him...-". 

"-Its ironic that you are the one saying someone else is too proud-". Reguls sat down onto the sofa, which was still warm from where his elder cousin had been sitting. Yet he couldn't help but feel that something was a bit odd in the way they had spoken- and the way that they had exiled Sirius and Regulus from their converstation. It wasn't as though they were usually allowed to eavesdropp the chatterings of their parents.....but that time it felt different. 

Something strange was occuring in the house of Black.

That much he could tell.


	4. Droobles and First names

Summer, despite its heat, ended faster than anyone could have anticipated, coming to a conclusion with a week chill that signalled to the begining of September. And on the Morning of the first of september, instead of walking about in thin dresses, shirts and shorts, the Muggles of the city worse coats and jumpers, despite the vast amount of sunlight that still lingered about . No children lingered in the park across the road from grimmauld place, as they were instead replaced by buisness men and mothers chattering on their way back from taking their dear children to school. And Regulus came away from the window of the sitting room as Sirius entered, looking quite a bit miserable. "-If you say _anything_ -". 

"-Oh Salazaar-", Regulus clambered off of the sofa, coming to tug at the fabric of the robes in which his brother was draped, "-You look like aunt Druella's bed curtains-".

"-Thanks-", he replied, "-I feel like I am wearing a dress-". He took to lifting up the hem, cocking his head up in a feminine manner. "- _Of course dearest Druella_ -", he spoke , sounding much like his mother, "- _That is very agreeable indeed_ -". 

"-Don't be an idiot-", replied Regulus, slapping his arm. 

"-Well I have to say-", he replied, "-At least I'll be warm in winter-". He slipped his arms inside of the sleeve holes so that the arms were left barren to flap about. "-Its like a big blanket-". 

"-Thats good then- Its cold in scotland-", stated Regulus, looking his elder brother over , "-Though you are missing something?-". 

"-What?-". 

"-A hair ribbon-", he pointed, "-Mother wont let you leave the house with it out like that-". 

"-But it is nowhere near long enough-", replied Sirius, turning to the doorway as a rushed looking Walburga passed by, taking a short moment to examine him as she went. 

"-You are two inches from needing a hair ribbon-", the woman then stated abruptly, before making her way over to the corner of the room, where her overcoat draped on the sofa beside a pot of floo powder at the edge of the large hearth. 

"-Told you-", smiled Regulus, to which Sirius pulled at one of his curls. 

"-Its not that long-". 

"-Maybe you should get it cut when you come back at christmas-", assesed the boy, "-It'll be much longer by then-". Regulus suddenly seemed a little dismayed. "-Hair can grow a lot in four months-". 

Sirius shrugged. "-Mine grows fast anyway-". 

"-I know....-", replied Regulus. 

"-Right-", Walburga spoke, slipping into her coat, "-Both of you will stay very close to me- I do not want either of you wandering off to Merlin knows where-". The boys nodded. "-There will be a great amount of Muggles about - so keep your eyes forwards-". She took a set of gloves from her pockets, then making for hall followed by Sirius, who forgot his case- to which Kreacher groaned. 

"-I've got it-", smiled Regulus, tugging it in the hall as Kreacher then rushed past him, opening the front door to the busy London street, at which both of the Black boys stood a little stunned for a moment as Walburga stepped down into the street, turning back to look at the pair of them. And Sirius took a moment to examine the hallway behind him. The wallpaper, the stairs, the door to the portrait room and dining room.....he made sure it was all firmly planted in his memory so that he wasn't quick to forget it.

"-Boys-", Walburga hissed, "-Come- _Now_ \- We don't have all day!-". 

Sirius turned to his brother, who, unknown to him, had been doing the same thing. Yet he hadn't examined the halls, or doors or even the stairs. They were not what concerned him. "-Come on Sirius....its time to go-". 

/////

St. Pancras was full of Muggles, that was to say the least. They rushed back and forth with their breif cases and strange outfits, hopping onto trains as they charged out of the station, setting off towards their destination quite eagerly . And in the centre of a crowd of them was Walburga, Sirius and Regulus, who still tugged along his elder brothers luggage. And Sirius kept his eyes forwards as his mother had instructed, whilst Regulus searched all of the Muggles faces, intrigued by their strangely painted eyelids and large, burly beards that concealed their faces like masks. It was a odd sight indeed. He'd only seen Muggles out of the window or across the street - he'd never seen them so up close. So he kept a steady pace beside Sirius, who, after a moment, glanced towards a Muggle family stood in the station, with a father holding his daugher up on a strong shoulder, laughing as his wife made jokes regarding a great amount of Ice cream around their sons face- to which his gaze then tracked back to his stiff lipped, beak nosed mother, who folded her palms to the hip of her purple taille as it clung to her slender form ever more tightly. Muggles were very strange.

He would had hated to be perched up on his fathers shoulder like a parrot, especially because he was quite short and his father was very tall. It would have been like sitting atop mount Everest.

The boys continued to walk in silence, slipping through the barrier between platforms nine and ten behind their mother, who wrinkled her nose at the great pooling smoke from the grand red steam engine that now sat before them, resting like a sleeping beast beneath a glassy ceiling. And around the train congregated all types of magical folk, waving their children onto the transport, which, in the centre cart by the window, Narcissa and Lucius could be seen smiling out of the Window to Druella, who flapped her handkerchief at them. "-Regulus- take Sirius' trunk to the other end of the train-", then instructed Walburga.

Regulus immediately looked to his brother, not much wanting to go off in the crowds alone. "-But...I -".

"- _Regulus_ -", she growled, cutting her son off, "-Go- now-".

"-Its alright Reggie-", begrudgingly agreed Sirius, to which his little brother nodded, begining to make his way over to where people were bunched up the most, crowded into groups. And as soon as he was out of view , Walburga wrapped her bony fingers over Sirius' shoulder, glaring at him whilst familys continued to pass through onto Platform nine and three-quarters, happy as can be. And her sudden change of attitude sent an echoe of discomfort down her sons spine as her grasp grew more fierce by the second. 

"-You better behave boy,-", she warned with a sharpness to her tone, "-One step out of line and it wont just be a caning for you. Remember what I told you-". 

"-Yes mother-", he respondedly quickly , not wanting her looming over him any longer than needed.

"-Good boy-", she responded, slipping her palm to his shoulder blades, before guiding him towards his Aunt, who looked the boy up and down through her nose, remembering Walburga's eagerness to show him and his piano talent off. She'd spent the evening after they returned home cursing the boy for failure beneath his breath so that she , for once, could get the chance to look down upon Walburga as she did to her. Yet she knew that she was never get the chance. Not with Walburga's perfect son.

"- Robes?-Already-", Druella examined.

"-Well we couldn't let him look unprepared, could we? -", stated Walburga to her sister in law, "-It was Orions idea. Maybe you should have done the same with your daughter-".

"- Well it is very _wise.._. However my Narcissa couldn't possibly pass up an oppertunity to show of her new dress-", agreed Druella, fixing her overcoat. And at that moment they could see Narcissa shopwing the frilly blue _thing_ off to her friends with a great big grin on her face. "-Well shouldn't you be getting on boy-", she turned her attention back to Sirius, who had been doing anything but looking at the train. Actually he'd been glancing around the space, looking for any faces that he'd recognised, or families. He'd taken note of Mr Fortescue , who worked at the Ministry for some time with his father- though they had their disagreements. And also, in the furthest corner of the space he'd noticed a tall Ginger boy- though he couldn't exactly place him in any group of people that he was aware of.

"-I-I want to wait for Regulus to return-", he argued politely.

"-You must get on the train now Sirius-", Walburga shunted the boy forwards towards the train, to which he stumbled, nearly falling over- a motion that a few people noticed. So she put on a great smile. "-Oh dear Sirius- be careful next time boy-". And he shot a disaproving look back at her, coming to the base of the metal step that'd take him up to the cart infront of him and onwards....to his future . One that was now going to begin with him having a sore lower back. So he bobbed there for a moment, hoping that Regulus would come running out of the crowds towards him so that he could say a proper goodbye, but after nearly a minuet and a half of lingering he had to get on the train as people had started to whisper about him, and he could feel his mothers eyes burning into the back of his head. So he climbed on board a little sadly, taking a deep breath as his feet touched the compartment floor. And he brought his head up to is high perch so that his hair pooled about his eyes, cupping their outer points as he marched forwards in his robes rather like a proud soldier, peering into compartments as he passed by, knowing what faces to avoid. Among the list were Mulciber, Malfoy, anyone with the Black Surname . He could have done without having the high society conversations all the way to Hogwarts. Just anyone who wasn't closeley or knowingly related to him would do, and so, at the end of the carrige as the train started up, he came to a stop, spotting a slightly pudgy little boy with large round glasses and a great smile on his face. He had on a bright red jumper on with blue jeans and a pair of Muggle trainers, yet something about the way he looked so comfortable in his surroundings argued the idea that he could have been a Muggle born. And Sirius had half the temptation to turn and look back to the window to see if Regulus was there. But then he would have been forced to meet his mothers glare. And the sound of a large whistle promted him even less . So he opened the compartment door, meeting the boys smile instead .

"-Heya-", he greeted, watching Sirius sit down across from him. And he held out his hand for him to shake it, "-Potter, James Potter-".

"-Sirius-", the boy met his hand for a moment, "-Sirius Black-".

"-Black?-", Potter chuckled.

"-Yeah-", Sirius furrowed his brows, "-Whats the matter with that?-".

"-Nothing-". James sat up straight. "-Just aren't you lot crazy ?-".

"-Crazy?-", he chuckled at his bluntness, "-How are we Crazy?-".

Potter shrugged. "-Just something I heard-".

"-I'm not crazy-", he replied firmly.

"-If you say so-". James then reached into his pocket, pulling out a small packed of Droobles blowing gum, from which he tore of the wrapper, holding one out to Sirius . "-You want one?-".

"-Yes-", he snatched it away before he could retract his offer. The last time he had had Droobles was when his Uncle Alphard had brought him some from Diagon Alley....him and Andy. 

James shoved his own bit into his mouth , before chewing roughly."-Where ya' from?-", he questioned to Sirius, running his hand through his messy black hair.

"-London- You-".

"-Godrics Hollow-", stated Potter, to which Black looked very confused. He'd never heard of Godrics hollow before. "-It was where Godric Gryffindoor was born-".

Sirius bobbed his head in acknowledgement. "- I don't know much about Godric Gryffindoor- my familys more Slytherin than anything-".

"-Thats cool-", replied James, "-I recon even some slytherins could be good-". He leaned forwards in his seat. "-Is that where you wanna go then- Slytherin I mean?-".

"-Uh- Yeah- I have to get into Slytherin-", he brushed a bit of hair behind his ear, chewing a bit more politely than Potter had, "-Every Black since the first of us have been in Slytherin. Mum was actually known as the 'pride of Slytherin for a little while'-".

"-She must have done well in school-". Sirius nodded. Walburga had not just done well in school. She had done _exceptionally_ , just as every Black did. They prided themselves on being thuroughly educated. "-My dad was a trouble maker- told me himself. Him and Professor McGonagall used to run around the school halls and terrorise the staff. And they were on the Quidditch team too. Dad was a Seeker-".

Black didn't really know who 'Professor McGonagall' was, so he just assumed she was some kind of Gryffindoor person, and most likely someone that he would never end up talking to. "-I don't know if my dad played Qudditch-", stated Sirius, "-But I know my mum didn't . Its not _proper_ for a lady-".

"-Blimey-", exclaimed James in disbeleif, "-Me, my mum and Dad used to play mini-Quidditch in the garden all of the time. Mums pretty good-".

"-My 'mum' doesn't _play_ -", responded Black, taking a look out of the window to notice the changes in scenery. It felt as though were no longer in London, but much rather heading towards the green British countryside, which looked a little sizzled after the recent sweltering heat that had afflicted it. "-I've never really been out of London- only to see my Aunt and Uncle-".

"-Really?-", replied James, who fixed his glasses on his nose, "- Is that why your all _tofty_?-".

"-Tofty?-".

"-Yeah-", explained the boy, "-Your all posh an' that. You sound like my mum, and she's from London too-".

"-And what does posh mean?-".

"-It means you sound like your a bit stuck up- _tofty_ -". Sirius couldn't help but chuckle at Potter.

"-You sound weird to me too you know- Ive never heard anyone sound like you-", he responded, "-But then again I havent really spoken to anyone outside of my family-".

"-For real?-", smirked James, "-So you're tofty and you've got no friends-".

"-Oh- and you have friends?-", retorted Sirius playfully.

"-Well-", he looked a little caught out, "-Not exactly. There isn't many kids my age in Godrics hollow. But surely theres loads of kids in London-".

"- _Muggles_ -", corrected Sirius.

"-Aren't Muggle kids still just kids like us though?-", wondered James, not really seeing much of a difference.

"-No-", he looked him up and down, wondering if he had been wrong in deciding his carriage, "-Are you pureblood?-".

"-Yeah-".

"-Then-". The boy was thuroughly confused. "-How can you think Muggles are like us?-".

"-Well- I mean-", James could see that Sirius was more confused than just....blatantly anti-Muggle. He'd never thought of Muggles being any different because thats how his parents thought too. Actually, Charlus, his father, had quite the fascination with them."-They breathe, and think, and talk, and run, and live....how different can they be really?-".

"-They aren't magic-", stated Sirius, conveying the main factor in which they were different from them, "-and they think they're better than us- but they aren't-".

"-Who says?-".

"-My family-", argued Black, sticking to his knowledge, "-Theyre nothing like us at all-".

Potter then shrugged. He wasn't too interested in the whole Pureblood, Muggle, magical, non-magical stuff. His main concern in life at that was wether he was going to get into Gryffindoor or not. "-So....Can you cast spells yet?-".

"-Yes- and speak languages, and ride broom, and -".

"-Okay- I get it-", paused James, "-Wait- did you say ride a broom?-". His Quidditch 'senses' began tingling.

"-Yes- I can flip and everything-".

"-Flip- pffth-", Potter spoke pridefully, "-I can stand up on the broom, while its flipping-".

"-Thats impossible-", argued Sirius, though it wasn't like he hadn't immediately contemplated trying it when he got his hand on one.

"-Well I mean-", James settled himself, "-I got halfway around and fell off - landed on the back patio. Whacked my head open-". He pointed to a slit in his eyebrow where a scar clearly rested. "-See-".

"-Salazaar-", he hushed his voice, "-Did your parents cane for it?-".

"-Cane me?-", the boy quickly shook his head, "-they'd never cane me. They're my parents- they just cleaned the wound and stuff-". James couldn't have imagined being caned. "-Why would they hurt me for making a mistake?-". 

Sirius blinked at him just as a knock came to the door, which slid open to reveal an old woman, hunched over a trolley filled to the brim with sweets. And if Sirius' eyes could turn into great big infatuated hearts, they would have in that moment. There was chocolate frogs, Butterbeer biscuits, fudge flies and just about everything you could imagine. Like heaven on wheels. "-Anything from the trolley dears-", groaned the woman, watching as Sirius leapt forwards, snatching himself a packet of Butterbeer biscuits and some fudge flies. And he'd just been about to tear the packet open when she spoke again. "-two sickles dear-".

"-I beg your pardon?-". He watched as she held out her hand to his rather accused looking face, which made James snort. He'd never had to pay anyone before.

"-Mate-", laughed Potter, "-You have to pay her- its no free service- your _majesty_ -".

"-I don't have money with me-", replied Sirius, not wanting to have to let go of his sweets. Actually, he shouldn't have had to. He was a Black.

"-I'll pay for you-", stated James kindly, taking some things from the trolley himself, "-ten sickles that should be- right love?-". Sirius couldn't help but notice how James spoke to the woman. It was strange, and as though he were older than her-which clearly wasn't the case.

"-Yes dear-", she took the money, "-You can always trust a Potter to know the right price-". And with that the woman dissapeared from the room, allowing the door to slam shut with a shudder of the train.

James then waited a moment, before shaking his head. Usually people would say thank you when others brought them things, but Sirius hadn't. Instead he just proceeded to eat the confectionary, shoving them in his mouth. "-You're gonna' get hiccups if you eat that fast-", he chuckled, having learned that lesson himself.

"-Hiccups?- What an earth are-", and his entire body suddenly seized up, with a high pitched squeak leaping from his mouth, "-Whats wrong with me- These sweets!- They must be hexed!-".

"-No- Its natural-", affirmed James, listening as the other boy squeaked again, "-Just slow down eating-".

"-But I have to eat it fast before....-". Sirius then paused , realising that he didn't have to eat anything quickly. His mother was all the way back in London. It wasn't like she could tell him off for eating sweet things.

"-Before?-", asked Potter.

"-Before....Before I accidentally drop it or something of that nature-", lied Sirius, "-I'm _inept_ to clumsieness-".

"-I recon everyones a little clumsy-", stated James, "-Dad says its part of what makes us all Human-".

"-Human- yeah-", half-agreed Sirius, knowing fully well that if he were to have been clumsy infront of any member of his family but Regulus they would not have been impressed. And he then reached to his packet, taking out a biscuit. "-Here-".

"-Thanks Sirius-". He took it gladly- But Sirius didn't seem to look very glad.

"-Did you just call me by my first name?-". Potter had just been about the bring the biscuit to his lips when getting very confused.

"-Yeah?-". Black frowned.

And , as the passing of a great cloud covered the sun, Sirius quickly came to realise that the Potter boy , with whome he had decided to share the journey to the begining of his new life, was not like him at all. That was to say the least. If he were anything like him he would have known that you call a stranger by their surname, not first name. It was rude. But he supposed that things were different for other Witches and Wizards. That much had become quite clear- And he did suppose that Potter had brought him food, so they weren't exactly strangers. So, instead of shunning the boy away...Sirius _attempted_ to adapt. "-Nothing-", he responded, "-Ja....Potter-". Yet the simplest of formalities were hard to change.


	5. Giving greasy a bath

After a good few hours , Sirius and James arrived at Hogsmeade station, stepping out onto the platform with the rest of the school as they rushed about beneath a star lit sky, with a very sweet filled James and Sirius hopping off of the train together with a smile, having talked almost non-stop on the journey about subjects such as their favorite foods to Qudditch, which, Sirius had come to learn, James was very serious about. Sirius had also told Potter about the newest fuss in his family that everyone was flapping about. "-So your cousins getting married and she's only a fifth year?-". Sirius nodded , fixing his robes so that they sat perfectly without a fold out of place as the crisp air nipped at his pale nose that had turned rather red. And they stepped after a bundle of other little witches and Wizards in their robes, drawn towards a bright light and the holler of a man. "-Aren't they a bit young?-".

"-No- My great aunt got married at twelve-", stated Sirius nonechalantly, watching as two figures stepped off of the train infront of them with their arms linked closely. One was small and slender with long, greasey Black hair, and the other had waves of vibrant ginger locks that stood out against the night. They looked quite the odd pair, pottering along. And Sirius gave them a momentary look of suspicion before just shrugging it off.

"- _Twelve_ -", scoffed James , unable to imagine something so terrible , "-I'm not even twelve yet-".

"-Neither am I -", stated Sirius, "-My birthdays November -".

"-March for me-", replied Potter, looking around at the tall, scary trees that surrounded the station that he was sure were part of the Forbidden forest. He knew that it enveloped the Castle and stretched on for miles like a barrier filled with all sorts of magical creatures, great and small....good and bad. His dad had run about in it when he was younger , causing a great deal of trouble whenever he got the chance to. "-Woah-". Yet his thoughts of the forbidden forest dissapeared when they both came to a stop behind the group of first year students that had bunched infront of them , looking up at the tall man who loomed in the centre of them with near awe. He had a large, brown scraggly beard that came to rest about the length of his shoulders,and wild hair that cupped his jaw with beady eyes and a set of keys attatched to the loop of his large muddy trousers. "-Thats a big guy-". Sirius nodded his head slowly, having never seen someone so large. He'd thought that his father was tall, but his father would have looked quite small beside him.

"-Hello you lot-", he smiled down to the fresh juvanile faces, who very blatantly whispered about him, "-Welcome tu' Hogsmeade station- I'm Rubeus Hagrid ,game keeper an' Keeper of keys an' grounds at Hogwa'rts- An' I'll be takin' all you little firsties ere' to school-". He leaned his lamp further forwards over the top of the children, causing the light to burn in both Sirius' and James' faces, who winced their eyes a little to see . "-Bless my soul- You mus' be Potters boy!-", he seemed to get a sort of giddy expression over his face at the sight of the foreign, yet strangely familliar face.

"-Oh-Yeah-", replied James, carefully pushing the lamp away so that he could see , "-Thats me- James....wait you knew my dad?-".

"-Course I did!-", he beamed, "-There weren't a soul at Hogwarts who didn't know yer' dad-".

"-Brilliant-", Potter bounced a little, feeling as though his name were famous.

"-Well welcome ter' Hogwarts James-", he then moved the lamp closer to Sirius, looking him up and down for a moment. And it seemed, after a long while, as though he had seen a ghost - to which he quickly stood back up straight, turning away from them. "-W-well- you'se lot follow me- This way ye' firsties-". He immediately began to march away for them, leaving both Sirius and James seeming very confused.

"-What was that about?-", asked Potter, begining to follow after the rest of his year.

"-I-I don't know-", responded a bewildered Sirius, noticing that one of the students continued to turn around and look at him as they made their way down from the platform and onto a tree filled path that had clearly been used many, many times - and after the sixth look , he caught a glimpse of the boys face, simpering upon the realisation of who he was. "-Well I'll be damned-". The boy froze, raising his shoulders dissaprovingly as James and Sirius caught up to him, with Black spinning infront of the boy, almost knocking into his rather large nose. "-If it isn't Snivellous Snape-", he narrowed his eyes.

"-Severus-", corrected the boy, glaring back at Black.

"-No- I distinctly remember you and that mother of yours attempting to terrorize my _dear_ Aunt in Diagon Alley-". James gave Sirius an unsure look, not much liking the look of Severus himself. He reminded him of some kind of sinister ghoul.

"-Leave me _alone_ , Black-", he spat, storming away from Sirius as he gave him a judgemental look that was very much like his mothers , wrinkling his nose at his hand-me-down robes and worn down shoes that almost flapped from his feet.

"-Did he really terrorise your aunt ?-", wondered James, continuing to walk beside Black once the boy had gotten far enough away. And he spotted Severus catching up to the ginger girl, who's hair completely covered her face as she looked over her shoulder to greet him again as he most likely complained about Sirius.

"-Yeah--", Sirius folded his arms, "-They were begging my Aunt for Galleons because they know she's quite....soft compared to the rest of us- and they were friends in school . But when Mother told her to leave she started trying to curse us and all sorts of things. Shes a wench and her husbands a Muggle- which makes greasy over there half-blood-". Potter couldn't help but laugh at Sirius calling Severus 'greasy'. It was very true, his head was unbeleivibly slimey. "-You'd think he'd at least wash his hair before the first night at Hogwarts- I don't want to go in the sorting hat after him-".

"-Blimey-", sniggered James," -It might slide off of your head. Like gobstones slime-".

After a little while of walking they found themselves at the bank of a river, where seven boats were lined up, waiting in the water that looked almost black in the night. And Sirius and James climbed on one on which a rather gittery looking boy sat , peering over the edge of the boat. He was as tall as he was wide, with big eyes and a swirl of light hair atop his head- and a rather large teeth filling his gittering mouth . "-Hey-", James greeted to him, holding out a hand. Yet the boy did not meet it, instead just nodding. "-I'm James-".

"-P-Peter P-p-pettigrew-", he jittered.

"Peter Pettigrew...what kind of name is that?-". He gave a single look to Sirius, feeling quite intimidated by him just on appearance alone. But then again everyone seemed rather intimidating without his Mother by his side.

Peter sank a little into his robes. "-Its the name m-my d-dad gave me-".

"-Its really Muggle-", responded Black, folding one leg over the other as he rested into his seat.

"-And James isn't?-", argued Potter, "-Don't mind his majesty over here- he's _tofty_ -".

"-I am not 'tofty'- i was just stating a fact-", corrected Sirius, scanning Pettigrew, "-I'm Sirius, Sirius Black-". The boy seemed frightened by the announcement of Sirius's name. And it was all for a good reason too. The Pettigrews and Blacks had never really gotten along. They were not enemies per say, but they'd never been friends.

"-N-Nice to meet you-", muttered Peter as the boats began to shift, which caused him to cling onto his seat with a rather terrified look on his face, which he noticed both boys staring at, "-I , uh, I don't like boats....or water....especially not deep water-".

"-Yep-", stated James with a smile, "-We could tell-". The boats slowly drifted away from land and towards the open water of the Great Lake, swaying gently as it went. And they moved in a triangle sort of formation, with the back corner of James, Sirius and Peters boat being quite close to the one on which Severus and the ginger girl sat, turned away from them, joined by another, taller boy, who was facing the opposing treeline.

"-Hey-Potter-", whispered Sirius to James, "-Want to give Snape a bath?-".

"-We could get in trouble Sirius-". Black blinked at him. "-From the big man-".

"-He already said he's not a real teacher-", he wrinkled his nose, "-Besides- he needs one-". He was sure they were too far away from Hagrid to get caught. He was all the way at the front of the formation.

"-Fine- But if we get caught Im blaming you?-". Peter watched wearily as the two boys leaned over the back of the boat, slowly placing their hands into the water. And they smiled to eachother before flicking a good amount towards the other boat, managing to miss Severus entirely and hit only the two other people who joined him- to which the ginger girl shrieked snapping around as both boys sunk into their seats so that they were concealed by the back of the boat . And she narrowed her large green eyes at Peter.

"-T-That wasn't very nice-", she spoke with a slight north English twang- And Severus very much looked like he could bare his teeth at him like some kind of ferral creature.

"-I-Uh...sorry-", he responded , feeling a little under pressure.

"-Its fine- Just don't do it again-", she responded courtily, placing a palm onto Severus' shoulder to turn him back around. But the one person who hadn't turned around was the third addition to the little group, who, whilst wiping some splatters from his scarred face, spotted James and Sirius emerging from their hiding place in a fit of amused laughter, unable to see their faces.

"-Are you okay Lily?-", worried Severus a little dramatically.

"-Its just water Sev-", she assured, "-Not poison-". Her eyes then met the hazel ones of their addition, who had been rather silent for the entire journey. "-Did it get you too?-".

"-Oh- Yeah-", he responded with a little bit of a Yorkshire accent, watching as she smiled at him to Severus' dismay, as he glared at his rather light brown curls and speckled cheeks.

"-I'm Lily-", she greeted kindly, "-And this is Severus- my best friend-". She seemd far too kind to ignore, appearing to have quite a lot of energy in her little, high pitched voice.

"-Remus-", he responded a little hesitantly, "-Remus Lupin-".


	6. Broken traditions

It wasn't long before all of the first years passed through an arch of tree's, coming to completely open waters, from which, in the far , misty distance, the glimmer of Hogwarts above the front of their row boats could be seen, waiting there for them. And Sirius, James and Peter looked to it hopefully, with wide eyes and a little childish giddyness welling up within them. However, looming in the far back of Blacks soul, was purpose. He knew that, unlike the other students, he had to get into Slytherin....he had to do well.....he had to succeed . He had little choice- and, he thought, he did not want one either. He'd carry the Black name with pride just as he'd been instructed to . He'd make way for Regulus, making up for Andys 'mistakes'- And once leaving the boats, the first years scaled the side of the mountain atop which the great castle stood, glimmering in the nightime like a beautiful becon. And they made their way into a picture covered hall, heading up a carpeted staircase atop which a slender, brown haired witch in a large green hat and long, green dress stood, watching as the students came to a halt before her . And amongst them she spotted James, giving him a rather pointed smile with her severe mouth, before opening her arms to them all. "-Greetings students-", she spoke with a strong Scottish accent, glittering at them , "-I am the Deputy Head Mistress of Hogwarts school of Witchcraf and Wizardry , and Head of Gryffindoor house, Minerva Mcgonagall. And before we begin, may I just say how lovely it is to meet you all-". The students whispered to eachother, watching as her hands came to her hips. "-Now, In a few moments you will be passing through those doors where you will be sorted into your houses. Those houses are Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Gryffindoor and Slytherin-". Sirius smiled at the mention of Slytherin, which startled Peter a little bit. But it would have been no surprise if a Black was to be sorted into Slytherin. They all were. "-These houses will be your families for the entirety of your time at Hogwarts, so I wish you all luck-".

"-What house do you want to get into Peter?-", asked James kindly to Pettigrew, taking off his glasses to wipe them with his sleeve.

"-Oh- I....I don't know-". Sirius cocked his brow at him. "-G-Gryffindoor...maybe-".

"-You have as much chance of getting into Gryffindoor as I do Hufflepuff-", stated Black, to Pettigrews dismay, noticing 'Snivilious' give him a sharp glare.

Yet Potter smiled at Pettigrew assuringly, having his heart set himself on Gryffindoor. That was of course because all Potters were in Gryffindoor. "-Don't worry Peter, I'm sure that you can get into Gryffindoor-".

"-Really?-", he breathed in a hopeful way, not to assured by Blacks disbeleiving glance to James.

"-Yeah-", enthused Potter, turning back to look at Minerva as she began to speak again. And Pettigrew smiled, standing a little taller within his robes.

"-Now- do any of you have any questions at all before we make our way through into the hall?-". Amongst the students a small dark haired girl raised her arm, attracting the attention of the room. She was quite pretty with a small, round face, and a boyish hair style with robes that hung off of her like a curtain. "-Yes Miss...-". It wasn't hard to place her, and Sirius could tell exactly who she was on sight.

"-Fortescue-", she announced with a rather loud voice for such a small girl,"-Alice Fortescue Professor -". All of the Fortescues had quite pixie-ish looks about them, with Mrs Fortescue having being regarded for a while, as the prettiest witch in England by Witch Weekly, and her husband, the Ministrys sweetheart. However Sirius' mother had thought that the Fortescues were quite ugly, and nothing compared the the high cheeked, sultry looks of the house of Black, including both of her sons.

"-Miss Fortescue-", encouraged Minerva, rather liking the confident manner in which she stood.

"-I was gonna' ask about houses. Are we aloud to speak to other houses or is that, like, not permitted-", she smiled a little to the slightly taller dark haired girl beside her , with wide brown eyes and dimpled cheeks ,who seemed a little nervous.

"-At Hogwarts we encourage-", began Minerva, now speaking to all students, "-Conversation between houses in all aspects. One thing we strive for here at this school is connection. Connections between students of all ages. That is why having houses is so prominent-".

"-Okay-", Alice smiled, linking arms with the girl.

"-Right then-", clapped Minerva McGonagall, "-Follow me-".

********

The Great hall was as its name described it....great. There were four large windows joined by four long tables on which students sat in their respective houses, cheering the arrival of the first years over empty bowls and plates whilst they walked through the centre isle , smiling widely. In the air floated a set of Candles that lightly bobbed up and down , and the sky was bewitched to look like that of the slightly misty night above it in a beautiful way. "-Wow-", smiled Lily, looking to Lupin, who now, instead of looming as he had on the boat, walked beside her, scanning the faces of all of the teachers who sat in a long row. And in front of them, on a winged podum, waited an old, greyed man, with a long, heavy white beard and half moon glasses that glittered in the candle light. "-Sev- How did they make the ceiling look like that?-".

"-Its bewitched-", he stated with a smile to the girl, "-To look like the night sky-".

"-Its quite nifty-", stated Lupin, slightly glad to see that it did not include the moon. He hated the moon.

"-It is really -", bounced Lily as they neared the front of the room, coming to a halt below the seat of an old looking chair on which a tattered hat writhed, watching them all through its fold eyes. "-Its moving?-".

"-Thats the sorting hat-", explained Severus, as he often had to do for any magical items, "-It tells you which house you get into -". Lily then beamed to the boy.

"-Well I hope I end up in whatever house you go to Sev-".

He blushed a little. "-M-Me too Lily-".

"- Now-", Minerva spoke, carefully lifting the hat into her right hand- and she took a scroll that had been sat beneath it up with her left, allowing the paper to roll out down to the height of her knees, "-When I call your name you will come and sit down here, and I will place the Sorting hat upon your heads- and you will hence be sorted into your houses-".

Narcissa stood up a little from her seat near to the front of the quite full Slytherin table, leaning over the top of the second year, Mulciber's , head of spikey hair, who smirked to his friend. "-Narcissa-", warned Lucius, glaring at the boys faces, "-What on earth are you doing?-". He fixed his shiny Prefects badge that had been overly polished. Of course Dumbledore had made him Prefect again, most likely because nobody else had bothered to come up for the job, and there was quite the limit on sixth year boys. Yet, to nobodys surprise, Narcissa too had a Prefects badge, being the most popular fifth year girl for her beauty alone.

"-Looking for Sirius-", she responded quickly, to which Mulciber raised a questioning brow, attempting to twirl his wand around in his fingers .

"-Sirius Black you mean-", the boy snarked .

"-Yes-", defended Narcissa, looking across all the the first years, "-The _Heir_ to the noble house of black-". And after a moment more, as Minerva called out the first student name , she spotted him talking to James about the look of each of the teachers, pointing to names that they had heard before and allocating them possible personalities . "-There he is-", she immediately examined Potter, drawn first to his round glasses, then his fresh robes and finally his messy tufts of hair. "-I've never seen _him_ before-". She tapped Lucius on the shoulder, pointing as the next students was called to be sorted as the first hopped to Hufflepuff house, placing himself down at the table between the two house Prefects. "-Who is he-the slightly scruffy one with the glasses?-".

Lucius raised his head a little over to boys infront of him. "-Oh- Glasses- Hair spikey...I'd suppose he's a potter. Their family have some money and I do beleive they live in....Godrics Hollow-". Narcissa contorted her brows a little in worry, coming to sit back into her seat. "-At least its a pure....well I'll be a Murtlaps uncle-".

"-What?-", concerned Narcissa as her fiance pointed himself. She'd worried that something terrible had suddenly happened to Sirius, and that, well, she couldn't much bear it.

"-Its Severus Snape-", laughed Lucius, "-Well- I didn't know they'd let his greasy head sully these halls-".

"-Oh dear-", she shook her head, "-I'd wager quite a few galleons Sirius has already had a go at him-".

"-Well his dear Mummy tried to hex you-", supported Lucius, "-I wouldn't be very much surprised. I'd be more suprised if he handn't-".

Students continued to step up to the stool, being placed in their houses with the current members of those houses cheering for them kindly. Well, the slytherin cheers were far more lackluster than the rest, with the first years not feeling very welcome. And they all were all mostly chattering the entire time until Minerva called: "Sirius Black!-".

Narcissa hushed her house , almost unable to sit still as her little cousin confidently bowled up to the chair, receiving a few disaproving looks from some 'knowing' members of other houses, Including the Gryffindoor Prefect, Billus Weasley, who met Lucius smirk, giving him a smugly irritated smile back. "-Good Luck Sirius-", smiled James to Black, who gave him a small nod of his head, sitting down into the chair with one leg crossed over the other. And Minerva slowly lowered the hat onto his hair, on which its shifted and wriggled, opening its mouth to speak.

"-Bill?-", a small second year girl, with long blonde hair and big blue eyes placed a hand on his shoulder, "-Are you okay?-".

"-Yeah-", he responded with a smile to her, "-Its just Mug-foy-".

"- _Sirius Black_ -", the hat near taunted his name as he sat into the wood of the chair in a proper manner , "-Yes... I see whats in here. Duty....your familys honour-".

"-How about you hurry up-", Sirius attempted to command with a smile, just wanting to go and sit with Narcissa, who, by this time, he had spotted.

"-Hurry up!-", shrieked the hat, echoing its voice inside of his head so that it hurt, "-Much like your mother and father you are. Ungreatful, entitled...yet powerful. Quite very powerful. A good dueler , well educated...you'd make a good Slytherin-". Black smirked, despite having been insulted by the hat. He knew that he'd make a great Slytherin as all the Blacks did. He had to make a great Slytherin. "-Yet...theres something else in you- something I can see- yes- clearly....mishcheif.....and courage....and care...and heart. Theres more to you than meets the eye Sirius Black - oh yes, its all here inside of your head....And temptation....you have great amounts of temptation....and in Slytherin....that will do you no good. Temptation to disobay-".

"-No-".

"-Really?-", pressed the hat, "-You wonder what life would be if you disapointed her. If you were blasted off of the tree. Is that not right.....its in your mind now....yes.....all there....right at the back behind your desires....-".

"-Just put me in Slytherin _hat_ -", hissed Sirius.

"-But you could do so-".

"- _Slytherin_ -", he argued, cutting it off.

"-Are you sure?-", it growled, seeing hesitance dancing about his young mind. Hesitance that had grown with the hats words.

"-....Yes....-".

"-I have made my descision-", the Hats voice now became audioable for everyone to hear, and Narcissa couldn't have climbed any further onto the table if she tried, "-GRYFFINDOOR!!!-".

Sirius heart sank. It sank more than anyone could beleive a heart to- and there was an astonished silence all around, even from the Professors, who waited for Sirius to move. Yet he felt a little frozen. "-No-", breathed Narcissa sadly, as Mulciber laughed distastefully. "-Not you too Sirius...". Lucius brought his arms around her, rubbing her shoulder assuringly. However he couldn't hide the smirk that had crawled its way onto his face. The little Sirius who always had the cheek to insult him every time they were in eachothers presence was placed in Gryffindoor of all things. 

It was rather funny indeed.

"-Some heir-", Mulciber mocked.


	7. Werewolves in cages

"-Gryffindoor!-", the hat bellowed again as James hopped up from the seat as happy as can be, and Minerva gave him quite the aproving look as he made his way over to the Cheering Gryffindoor table, squishing himself besides Sirius, who stabbed at the wood a little with a knife he had picked up, having been yet to greet anyone. He'd just, instead, watched the proceedings continue as though nothing happened, receiving the odd look from Billius and his female friend, who he'd overheard was called Marlene. "-Guess we are gonna be together then Sirius-", beamed James, capturing Blacks wavering attention.

"-Oh- Yeah-", Sirius put on a smile, "-But I get the biggest bed-".

"-Pfft- as If-", James argued, "-Its mine-".

"-The beds are all the same size-", inputed a boy from across the table, who had coarse brown hair and rather large teeth with dark, thick eyebrows and an oversized tie, seeming around the same age as Marlene, "-Just be happy you have a roomate-". He smiled.

"-Franks jelous-", stated Marlene, smirking to the boy who shook his head at her, "-He's the only second year boy-".

"-And your the only girl-", he retorted.

"-Yet Professor McGonagall let me share with Dorcas and Mari-", she brushed some hair behind her ear before finally looking to the boys, "-Marlene Mckinnon- and that heffalump over there is Frank Longbottom-".

Sirius sniggered a little. "-Longbottom?-".

"-Don't you dare-", warned Frank, "-I've heard every joke under the sun-".

"-Franks sensitive-".

"-I aint'-", he argued determinedly, shifting over a little as he felt the seat beside him move, "-Your the one who whines about everythin' ti'll you get your own bloody...-".

"-Hi-", spoke that same voice that had questioned McGonagall in the stairwell. And they all came to meet Alices smile, with Longbottom choking on his saliva a little, having not expected, one, to turn and see a girl, and two, for her to be quite so pretty.

"-Hi-", greeted Marlene, "-I'm Marlene Mckinnon- but you can call me Mars, Lee or Mckinnon if you want-".

"-Great-", she smiled, then fluttering her eyes to Frank, who stared at her a little speachless.

"-I-I'm Frank-", he slowly gave out his hand for her to shake it, to which Sirius seemed baffled,"-And you are?-".

"-Alice Fortescue-".

"-Whoa- Hold on-", exclaimed Billius, breaking into the conversation, "-So we have a Potter and Fortescue in first year?- Blimey it must be Gryffindoors year of luck-". Sirius rolled his eyes a little. "-And you too Sirius-".

"-Excuse me?-", he responded, to which Marlene laughed.

"-Jesus christ- your posh-", she teased.

"-W-Why does everyone keep on saying I'm posh?-", he argued , seeming to sound even more proper than before.

"-You are right tofty sounding-", replied Billius, to which James beamed.

"-Thats what I said-".

"-Well-", he tapped the side of his speckled head, "-Great minds think alike -".

"-Sirius-". Black gave Alice a slight glare after her having been the third stranger that day to call him by his first name. "-Is it true that your family has five Gringotts Vaults- and that you all have a seperate one to yourself?-".

"-Four-", he corrected, "-And we only get our own when we turn seventeen- like my cousin Bella-".

"-Bitch-atrix you mean-", inputed Billius with a tone of hatred, "-Oh- Sorry Sirius...".

"-No- I agree- shes horrid-", replied Black.

"-Andromeda was nice though-", responded Weasley, "-She was one of my elder brothers friends-". He gave Sirius the benefit of the doubt, and imagined him to be like Andromeda Black, who was one of the nicest witches he had ever met. And she was engaged to a Muggleborn, meaning that she was most definately not anti-mugle like the rest of the Black family.

Black raised his brow intriguedly. "-Really?-".

"-Yeah- Really-", he assured, giving Sirius a kind smile as the table shifted again, and Peter plopped himself down at it, beaming from ear to ear.

"-Peter!-", celebrated James, unaware of how shocked Sirius seemed, "-Mate you made Gryffindoor-".

"-I-I know-", he stuttered, nodding his head a little in a greeting way as the table shifted again beside James.

"-Godric!- How many Gryffindoors are we getting!-", Billius seemed estatic, especially since the year before hand they had amounted themselves near to no students at all. And James turned to meet a set of wide, striking green eyes and waves of vibrant hair. And she had the widest, sweetest of smiles that met on end with her full, rosy cheeks.

"-H-Hi-", he gulped, shooting his hand so quickly towards her that he nearly gaver her a right hook to the chest, "-I'm James-".

"-Lily-", she shook his hand, glancing back to the group of First years where a rather dumbstruck Severus stood, just staring at her as he had been as soon as she had been announced to be in Gryffindoor, the one house that he was sure that he would have never been able to get into.

"-You were with Snivellous-", stated Sirius, having figured it out due to the fact that one, she was the only ginger in first year, and two , by the way they looked to eachother.

"-And you're Sirius Black-", she glared at him , "-You teased Sev-".

"-He deserved it-", he snarked, "-And if you two are such good friends , maybe you should have told him to wash his hair-". James laughed a little, receiving not the kindest of looks from Lily .

"-Sorry-", he whispered, still holding a little bit of a smile.

Lily decided to ignore him, being more focused on Sirius anyhow. "-He told me your an entitled prat-", she echoed in a hateful manner, "-That you were horrible to him and his mother-". And Sirius, due to the resentment that had been welling in his stomach for the last seven minuets, began to bark.

"-Well the 'blood traitor' deserved it!-", he hissed, bringing utter silence to the Gryffindoor table, "-And so did Snivellous. I'm sure he forgot to tell you the part where his dear Mummy tried to hex me and my family-muttering like a mad witch. And you have no right to call me a _prat_ \- neither does that greasy haired sewer rat!!-".

She narrowed her eyes in confusion, not taking in much of what he had said because it had come out so fast that the words crashed into eachother. "-Whats a blood traitor?-". James shook his head at Sirius, who took a sharp breath, turning his head down to the empty plate that rested before him to gather himself.

"-Its....a term used by Purebloods such as Mr Black-", Marlene wrinkled her nose, "- It normally means a Pureblood witch that marrys a Muggle-".

"-Pureblood?-".

Sirius then looked her up and down, unsettled by how little she knew. "-You're Muggleborn- aren't you?-".

"-Yeah-", replied Lily, with a few students examining her as though she were some type of alien. It wasn't often that they met Muggleborn students, most likely because they were quite rare.

"-Sirius-", began Billius with a stern voice, speaking down to him, "-You can't say things like 'Blood traitor'- its horrid-".

He wrinkled his brows. How was it horrid? It was a word. "-What?-". Yet he received no answer as the table shifted again , and Lily smiled.

"-Remus-", she greeted, attracting attention to the boy, who Sirius didn't even look at. Not once.

However one thing everyone else , who had taken the time to acknowledge his presence noticed, were the scars all over his face. There were three small, fainter ones by his jaw, and one larger one that crossed his nose bridge. Yet they attempted to ignore it after getting a good look just in the worry that their cause was a sensitive subject. "-Remus is it?-", smiled James, "-I'm James Potter-". He nodded to the boy, finding his eyes upon the apparent ball of hair and self pity that sat beside him.

"-Remus-", he returned, "- but I recon' you two already saw me- on the boat?-".

James then froze, realising that the two people they had hit with water from the great lake was Lily and Remus. "-Uh- no- pfft- what do you mean?-". Lily raised a light brow at him, to which he giggled guiltily. And Remus then edged his head at Sirius to James. "-Oh-the one moping is Sirius-".

"-I am not moping-", he returned, lifting his head. And Lupin met his eyes , being a little startled by their stricking blue colour. He'd never seen eyes quite like it. "-I suppose your another Muggleborn too if you've already met the _delightful_ Lily-". She shook her head at him

"-Actually no- I'm Half-blood- Lupin-", he stated .

"-Lupin?-", Alice asked, "-Like- uh- Lyall Lupin?- One who made the Werewolf Restriction Act?-".

Remus nodded slowly. "-Thats my Pa'-".

"-The Werewolf restrcition act?-", scoffed Sirius, "-My mother says the Ministry should just get rid of them all . Its not like any of them listen to the act anyway-".

"-And how does Mrs Black suppose they'll do that?-", replied Marlene, not giving Sirius any benefits of any doubts. Blacks were Blacks, no matter where they ended up. She despised him already.

"-Kill them all, of course-", he answered bluntly to which the Lupin boy contorted his face in distaste.

"-Killing Werewolves for just being Werewolves is illegal-", stated Frank , "-the Ministry would be breaking their own laws-".

"-Alright then-", he stated, "-They could just put them in cages at the bottom of the North sea then-".

"-Thats barbaric-", Marleen shook her head, "-Even if they are big....dribbling...sharp toothed mo-". 

"-Students-", their conversation was ended by the booming voice of Albus Dumbledore, who looked as grand as ever in his bluish robes, with rings resting on each of his slightly withered fingers, "-That shall conclude our sorting ceremony-". As he spoke, the girl with dimples from before snuck over, sitting beside Peter with her thumbs up to Alice.

"-O-Oh...Hi-", greeted Pettigrew, shifting away from her uncomfortablly.

"-Hi-", she responded, "-I'm Mary-".

"-Peter-".

"-I wish all of you first years the best . Remember, these houses are your families whilst you are here at this school-". Lily suddenly realised something. Severus was nowhere to be seen. So she sat up on her knees, frantically searching the room, until she spotted him hunched at the Slytherin table, glared at by the other students. "-Now , just a quick note. This summer a whomping willow has been placed on the school grounds . I encourage all students to stay very far away from it, for the willow is very tempermental, and I am sure Madame Pomfrey could do without a miriage of students being pulled into the infirmary after tree related attacks-". Madame Pomfrey, as he said this, sank tiredly into her seat, knowing that she'd be soon to be seeing many Slytherins and Gryffindoors in her care. "-And any students who go near the Willow will face a months detention- with Proffesor Slughorn-". There was a few groans around the room as the man smiled, tapping his fingers together.

"-Whats a whomping willow?-", asked Mary.

"-Its a sentient Willow that will attack anything that comes in its path-". Frank and Alice both looked to eachother, having said the same thing at the same time.

"-Sorry-", he apologised.

"-Its fine-", she chuckled, "-Do you know a lot about Herbology?-".

"-Franks top of the class-", inputted Marlene before the boy could speak, "-Sprout calls him-".

"-Don't-", pleaded Longbottom.

"-A smart little seedling-". He hung his head in shame as Alice laughed at the name.

"-Now- As usual we at Hogwarts love to welcome our new first years. So it is with great pleasure that I say- Let the feast begin-". The students then watched as food aparated up onto the empty plates and into the bowls, filling the air with the most delicious of smells that came together above their heads- And Lily squealed in delight at first the trick, and then, the sight before her. There was meat, vegetables and even sweet treats for desert, with yellowish liquid sweltering up within golden goblets.

"-How did they do that?-".

"-House elves-", stated Billius, gladly taking a leg of chicken up into his grasp, "-They work in the kitchen downstairs-".

"-And they're bloody good cooks-", complimented Frank, going to take for a Chicken wing when he paused for a second, "-would you like one Alice?-".

"-No- I don't eat meat-", she returned, "-And please , call me Ali- all of you. Its like Dumbledore said. We're family now-". He bobbed kindly, instead dishing a few potatoes out onto her plate- and she gave him a thankful look. 

"-Well-", Marlene lifted a goblet of pumpkin juice to his lips, staring straight into Sirius face, "-some of us-".


	8. Scarface

After the feast had ended, to a few of the very full students dismays, Bilius lead Gryffindoor house out of the hall and towards the moving staircase in a huddle as they whispered about how they would spend their first night away from home . Some students still had sweets they had smuggled in their robes from the train, or closed glasses of butterbeer to celebrate the evening before they would have to go back to learning - And as they went, Sirius felt a hand creep over his shoulder. A sensation that sent a shudder through his entire body. And he snapped to face Narcissa, who frantically searched his face for any signs of sadness or distraught mannerisms, which were only slightly brought on by the look in her eyes. He couldn't be in Gryffindoor. He shouldn't have been. "-Sirius-", she frowned deeply, swinging her huge diamond as she retracted her touch, "-I-I- I can speak to Professor McGonagall- ask her to put you in Slytherin before you mother finds out. The Housing notices get sent the day after your sorted- theres still time cousin-". And Sirius mouth turned up into a great smile from where it had been twisted in negative anticipation.

"-Would you really do that for me?-", he asked, hopeful that she would be able to do it. Narcissa had a way with words, and he knew that he could ....trust her to try and help him. Or he thought he could at the least, and that counted for a lot.

"-Of course Sirius- I know your better than getting into _Gryffindoor_ \- you are a Slytherin in my eyes- despite this little hiccup- ". Billius paused, overhearing Narcissa, to which he frowned to a tanned girl, with great big curls of brown hair and sharp edged glasses who had anything but a pleased look about her. 

"-How dare she?-", the girl, who's name was Dorcas Meadows, hissed, "-Who does she think she is?-". Dorcas was a third year, known for her intelligence, perseverance on the quidditch field and for having a rather grand dislike to anyone who affiliated themselves with the name 'Malfoy'. This was most especially including his future wife.

"-Narcissa _Black_ -", returned Billius in a teacher like manner , "-I'm not surprised by anything that comes out of her mouth. One minuet she's attatched to Andromeda, and the next minuet she's clinging to Mug-foy-". He clapped his hands together, catching both of their attention. "-Sirius-". And Narcissa curled her lip to the boy. "-Come on- we don't wanna' loose you. These moving stairs have a mind of their own you know-". James becalmed him over to them.

"-I'm talking to him-", hissed Narcissa possesively, "-He's _my_ cousin-".

"-I am aware-", replied Billius, matching her tone , "-But I'm also I am aware that you're a Prefect currently skiiving off of your duties to talk to him- arent you?-".

"-Its fine Cissy-", Sirius took her hand.

"-I'm surprised he's not the one marrying her-", she stated with a smirk, confusing the first years, "-What did Mari say they were like again-".

"-Be nice Marlene-", warned Dorcas, knowing her tendancy to 'overexpress' herself.

The boy then parted from Narcissa, trudging over to the rest of the Gryffindoors who, from most, looked as happy to have him around as he did them. "-I didn't know your cousin was a Slytherin-", spoke James as they followed the rest of their house up onto the stairs, "-She must be the one getting married then, right-".Black nodded, leaning towards the boy .

"-Stay together-", commanded Billius, "-You never know when these stairs are gonna swivel about-".

"-They're more unruely than Dorcas' hair-", teased Marlene, reaching up to tug a curl- to which Dorcas glared at her.

"-I will throw you over the bannister Mckinnon-".

"-Narcissa's going to speak to Professor McGonagall-", Sirius whispered to James, "-Maybe I'll end up in Slytherin after all-". He'd spoken as though telling the greatest secret in the world.

However James seemed a little dismayed by it. Sure Sirius was a bit rude....and anti-Muggle , but he was starting to like him. "-Oh...But I've never heard of anyone switching houses after they were sorted?- when your sorted...well your sorted. Nothing you can do I suppose-".

"-Well-", he hopped up one step after spoting a section of it had been chipped away, regretting to inform Peter, who tripped up it, being stopped from completely falling over by Mary, -I was the first Black to not get into Slytherin- so I guess theres a first for everything-". He seemed far more optimistic than he had at dinner, so James just nodded, looking back a little to Lily, who was peering longingly down the stairs at Slytherin house , watching as they made their way across the entryway hall with a dejected Severus snake slithering his way along behind them.

"-I don't think you are the only person who would like to go to Slytherin-". Sirius spotted Lily immediately upon James' words.

"-The Muggleborn wouldn't last a minuet- they're all Pureblood or half at the least-", he held onto the banister, "-They'd eat her up and spit her out- especially with Lucius as one of the Prefects-".

"-I suppose so-", agreed James, guessing that it was better for her to have been put in Gryffindoor. And after a good few minuets of scaling the steps they came to a portrait on which a large lady sat, looking upon all of the students before groaning.

"-Password-".

"-No 'Hello' for me fat lady?-", cooed Billius, flicking his very minimal amount of hair.

"-Hello-", she growled, despising him rather greatly, "- Now speak the password-".

"-Fizzing Whizbees-", he then stated , to which she bobbed her head. And the picture shuddered a bit, begining to open out away from a stone arch, from which the Gryffindoor common room could be seen. It had a few windows scattered around the room from which the night sky outside could be seen, with a warm fire burning in the grand stone hearth, above which the list of names from the Gryffindoor team from the year before sat, amongst which there was notibally , Billius Weasley , Dorcas Meadows and Molly Prewett. The entire space was cladded mostly in red and yellow with a few paintings and a miriage of tattered old sofa's that seemed very, very comfortable, cloaked in quilts that near matched the carpets sat before them. And on one side of the room was an archway leading up towards the dormitories. "-Welcome to the Gryffindoor common room-", smiled Billius, "-I can for one say that we are very glad to have you here-". The rest of the house began to disperse, either settling into sofas or heading upstairs to unpack their things, bringing the once empty space immediately to life.

"-I'd have to disagree with you there-", stated a boy, leaning against the entrance to the Dormitories with a smirk. He had small features and wide eyes, with thick brown hair that Flicked upwards in the front like a swirl of icecream.

"-DANNY!-", Mary and Alice ran towards him, hugging the boy tightly so that they almost took him off of his feet.

"-Ali- Mary- My girls-", he hugged them back, receiving a half confused, half jelious look from Frank.

"-You know those two?-", he asked.

"-Very well-", the boy stated. He was in the year above Frank, and was often reffered to 'The good looking version of Longbottom' after the boys arrival, "-How do you think these two twirps know eachother in the first place- I introduced Alice to Mary-".

"-Well then I'm sure you two girls should feel right at home-", responded Dorcas, having been in the same year as Daniel Mcdonald. He was the good sort of boy, who always went to classes and did well in them too. Yet he had a wicked tongue when he wanted to.

Lily then suddenly felt a little alone as the two other girls in her year already knew eachother, and the only person she really knew at school was in a completely different house. Plus she didn't like Sirius, not one bit, and she could tell that James was his friend, so she was sure that they surely had to be as bad as eachother. So she slowly inched her way towards Remus, who seemed rather weirded out by how silently she slithered towards him. "-Hi?-", he breathed.

"-Hi again Remus-", she responded a little awkwardly.

"-Can we go up to our room?-", asked James to Billius.

"-Course' Potter- all four of you boys can follow me up if you want-", he stated, glancing across the room for a moment, in which he very visibly frowned. Something had very quickly taken away his attention. Or someone for that matter.

"-Actually Frank-", changed Dorcas, "-You recon you could take em' up- you know the empty room at the top of the tower-".

"-Yeah-", Longbottom smiled, "-Follow me you lot-".

*******

Their room was , as Dorcas had said, right at the top of the tower, with small slithers of windows from which they could see the view of the land about Hogwarts, and four ancient beds, all cladded in red as the common room had been. There was a heater in the centre of the room, as well as dark chests at the end of each of the beds, on which each of the boys trunks rested , and Frank left them to get unpacked so that they were , for the first time, alone together. And James immediatly ran to the bed where his trunk rested, diving onto the bed so that he sunk into the soft matress as Remus more slowly made his way to the one in which his particularly tattered trunk sat, having been put together by glue and stitches a few times over. Sirius shook his head at it, coming to sit on what he supposed would be his own bed, just until Narcissa could get him moved, of course. 

She said she would.

Potter than sat back up after a moment, fixing his glasses that had nearly slipped from his face whilst deciding to strike up a conversation. "-Where are you boys from?-", he asked to Remus and Peter, who struggled to hop onto his own bed, having to use a quilt like a rope.

"-Oxford-", then stated Pettigrew, looking to Remus, who carefully unlatched his trunk as not to break it.

"-Oh-", he took out a brownish jumper, placing it on the end of the bed, "-Yorkshire, outside of Hutton-le-Hole-".

"-Never heard of it-", responded James, coming so that his legs swung from the end of the bed.

"-Not many people have-", added Remus, sounding a little uniterested as he continued to unpack.

"-W-Where are you guys from-", twitched Pettigrew in curiosity, tugging his robes a bit. And James decided to take his off, leaving himself in his red Jumper and jeans again.

"-Godrics Hollow and London-", finished Potter for Sirius, who's attention had been snatched away by the sight of Remus now removing a shiny bar from his trunk that looked very much like chocolate. Yet he'd never seen the name on the front of it before.

"-Is that chocolate?-", he asked to the boy, who finally joined the conversation.

"-Oh -yeah- Cadburys-", he responded, stroking the packet a little with his thumb. His voice was very stiff and quite mistrusting. "-Would you like a piece?-".

"-Yeah Mate-", James nodded, as well as Peter, and Remus opened the packet, breaking off some to throw it to them until he realised that he'd given too much and there wouldn't have been the same amount for him and Sirius left. So he just threw the entire thing at Black, knowing he had more somewhere. Yet Sirius just stared at the packet as though Remus had decided to fling a packet of poison at him.

"-How are you eating that?-", he poked it with his delicate nail, having worked out why he'd never seen the name before,"-It's Muggle chocolate?-".

"-So-", James shoved another bit into his mouth, "-Its the same-".

"-How can it be the....-".

"-Just try it Sirius-", he encouraged, "-Or Remus will take it back- wont you Remus-". Lupin looked to Sirius, shrugging. "-See-".

"-Oh Salazaar- Fine-", he took the packet, snapping off a piece before throwing it into his mouth...and godric was it good. It was probably the best tasting chocolate he had ever had. Better than any chocolate frogs or Wizarding concotion ever. And so he just silently chewed in a defeted way.

"-Its good- isn't it-", chuckled James in a half taunting manner.

"-Its not terrible-", he responded thickly. Actually it was anything but terrible. But he was sure that something truely Muggle made could not have tasted that good.

"-Thanks Remus-", then smiled James.

"-Yeah- Thanks-", echoed Peter, having managed to get chocolate all over his mouth. And Remus seemed to have to take a moment to asorb what they had said, before smiling a little. "-A-Are you okay?-".

"-Yeah- sorry- My head just gets fuzzy sometimes- thats all-", he responded, "-I think I'm just tired-".

"-Oh- Do you want to sleep? - We could unpack the rest of your things-", offered James, "-I mean, you gave us chocolate-".

"-No-", responded Remus wearily, "-I'm fine-". He closed his trunk, coming to sit on his bed as the other boys did. "-Anyway. Are you lot excited to start lessons?-".

"-Yeah- definately-", James responded, "-I recon it'll be fun - and maybe we can all sit together too....well except for Sirius-".

"-W-Why not Sirius-", wondered Peter, jolting back a little upon being met by his cold gaze.

"-Because _I_ am going to Slytherin-", he announced, "-A Black has no place in _Gryffindoor_ -".

"-But the hat sorted you here? - you can't change it-", argued Remus, catching Sirius' attention, "-Its impossible-".

"-Nothings impossible for a Black-", hissed Sirius.

"-Well ,that would probably explain how you got into Gryffindoor-", he retorted calmly, to which Blacks eye twitched a little. And James slowly placed a piece of chocolate onto his tongue, watching them intently.

"-I didn't get into Gryffindoor- that hat made a mistake!-", he anounced, pushing to his shoes, "-I told it to put me in Slytherin and it had the cheek to go against me. I should have ripped up the moldy old piece of fabric-".

"-But....The hat never makes a wrong choice-", stated Remus knowingly, "-It was created by the founders of this school- and so that means there are reasons for people being placed where they are. Your placement is based off of aspects of your character....even if you cant see them.... Your a Gryffindoor whether you like it or not-".

"-I. am. A . Slytherin, _scarface_ -". James and Peter let out quiet little gasps at the boys insult, knowing that everyone had been refraining from saying anything about them. "-Just wait- you'll see-". Lupin stiffened his jaw . "-Blacks are not Gryffindoors. Its tradition- The hat must know that because it spoke about my mother. I have to be in Slytherin. I will be in Slytherin-".

"- _Fine_ -", responded Lupin slowly, "-You'll be a Slytherin. Its not like it effects me-". And Sirius raised his head proudly, folding his arms. "-Just don't get annoyed when the hat puts you right back in this room with us-".

Lupins passiveness was more infuriating to Black than if he had just shouted at him. It was almost unitentionally two faced. "-I don't think I even asked your opinion in the first place, ' _Half-blood'_ \- so why don't you stay out of it- _huh_ -".

"-Okayyyyy-", James laughed awkwardly, "-Thats enough of that-". Peter bobbed his head quickly, suddenly feeling very uneasy. Well....more uneasy than he had before. "-We should be getting alo-". 

"-You'll come to find , James-", returned Remus, "-That I have done nothing that would go against us getting along-". And he turned back to his trunk, not wanting to speak any more. 


	9. Long legs and ties

The next morning, James, Sirius , Peter and Remus all got ready for the day, putting on their trousers shirts and then ties, which had been left at the end of their beds during the night. Yet Sirius just left his where it had been, not wanting to walk around with it on as he was _not_ a Gryffindoor. He was absolutely sure of it. There was no possible way that he could belong to a house of Muggleborns and Half-Bloods. He was a Pureblood Black-The 'pride' bearer of his family- And he looked quite odd that morning at breakfast when everyone else had on their ties in some way or another, with him just having his top few buttons open in an un- fashionable manner. So Marlene, who had received great pleasure in insulting him to the third year girls the night before, glared at the boy, shaking her head to Billius who , suprisingly, had hope for Sirius yet. "-This breakfast is good-", stated Black,shovelling it in, "-I've never had breakfast like it-".

"-Its called Cereal Sirius-", stated James, seeing he had a tendancy to eat very, very quickly, "-And your going to get it all over you-". Yet Black just shrugged, noticing, after a moment ,Remus shaking his head. The pair hadn't spoken at all since their conversation the night before, which had made everything a little awkward.

"-What- _Lupin_?-", he growled , to which the boy sighed, not bothered to say the same things that he had said the night before again.

"-Nothing, Black-". Lily, Alice, Mary, Marlene, Billius and Dorcas paused , glancing between eachother- and Frank just continued to eat his breakfast, pretending that nothing had happened. But he couldn't ignore it any more when Sirius purposly scraped his spoon against his bowl, gaining back Lupins attention.

"-Then stop looking at me-",he returned as though Lupin hadn't already stopped before.

"-I was only looking because I noticed that you don't have a tie-", stated Remus, carefully bringing some cereal from his own bowl into his mouth, "-It looks odd-".

"- I'm waiting to get my Slytherin one-", he stated outwardly.

"-Slytherin?-", Lily frowned, being just as confused as everyone else, "-What are you talking about?-".

"-Sirius is going to get moved to Slytherin-", stated James simply, having told three people that morning who'd asked why the 'First year Black' didn't have on his tie, and honestly it was getting a bit irritating. They could have just asked Sirius themselves, he didn't bite. Well...he was sure he didn't bite.

"-Well I say good riddance-", smirked Marlene, "-Would have been annoying to know you Black-".

He smiled begrudgingly. "-You know, Marlene, you remind me of something-", he lowered his voice, "-An _ugly_ house elf-". And she glared at him.

"-What did you just call me , Black?-".

"-Uh oh-", Dorcas siezed her arms before she could attack Sirius, "-Calm down Mckinnon- don't listen to him-".

She shunted Dorcas off of her. "-You better sleep with one eye open, Black-".

"-Fine- I will-", he scooped up another mouthful of cereal as Professor McGonagall made her way into the Great Hall , looking their side of the room with her focused eyes, "-in the Slytherin Dormitories-". And after a moment she spotted Sirius, coming over to the Gryffindoor table in a hurried manner.

"-Professor-", greeted James with a smile, to which she bobbed her hat covered head a little bit.

"-Mr Potter- Its nice to see you again- I'm sure your father will be very happy to hear that you are in Gryffindoor -", James beamed as she then turned her attention to Sirius, "-Mr Black. Good morning-".

"-Good morning-", he chirped, looking around at everyone rather smugly, "-Did my _cousin_ speak to you?-".

"-Yes- Miss Black came to my office-", she suddenly seemed rather tired, "-and woul _d not_ leave-". Sirius smiled. He knew he could count on Narcissa. "-She stated that you want to move houses - is that correct?-".

"-Yes Professor-", he replied, to which Billus shook his head, continuing eating his breakfast, "-shall I gather my things?-".

She examined him. "-Well I suppose if you mean that missing tie of yours- then yes-". Lupin, who seemed far too focused on his bowl, let out a sound that was sort of a mixture between a laugh and a snort, which set Marlene off, then Alice, then Mary and Dorcas too, having to cover their faces so that it was not obvious. "-You do not simply decided to move houses Mr Black. It is like I said. This house is now your family. You may not want it to be so, but you cannot change it - so I suggest you embrace your situation-". He stared at her in disbeleif as she stood back up straight. "-There is no suitable reason that has been made apparent to me for you to be required to bother the Sorting hat again, nor has there ever been for any student in the history of this school. And I can most definately say you are the first ever student of my house to attempt to move to Slytherin. Now that, I can tell you, was news to me-". Mckinnon couldn't help herself, and burst into loud laughter. "- Funny is it?-Miss Mckinnon-".

"-A little McGonagall-", she struggled.

"- _Professor_ -", the woman corrected, "-and would you please stand for me-". Marlene immediately stood up from her seat, already knowing what was coming. "-Well Miss Mckinnon- are we to be expecting floods-". James sniggered, which made Peter laugh too, but a little more quietly. He didn't want her to threaten him like she had done to Sirius .

"-No Professor-", she responded, no longer finding the situation funny as Billus smirked, turning his head away.

"-Is your next class to be in a swimming pool then?-".

"-No Professor-", she repeated.

"-Well- though I do not doubt the length of your legs Miss Mckinnon, I don't beleive that your knee caps are located beneath your buttox. That is unless, of course, you require immediate medical attention from Madame Pomfrey-". She folded her arms as Weasley took deep breaths, attempting not to chortle as his peers did. He didn't want to come under one of her rutheless attacks . "-Pull that down before I take away a house point for innapropriate uniform- Its a skirt- not a belt-".

"-Yes Professor-", she droned, kicking her shoes to the ground.

"-And you- Mr Weasley-", she pointed to Billius.

"-Why me?-", he then groaned, whacking his head down on the table.

"-It has now come to my attention that three of your students have left the dormitory on the first day back with incorrect uniform- ". She slipped her wand from her large sleeve.

"-Wait?- Three?-", asked Frank, being entirely unprepared for his tie to suddenly tighten to his neck- and he let out a rather embarassing squeal, to which Alice couldn't help but laugh with a bit of a pitiful look to him.

"-Yes- three ,Mr Longbottom-". She placed her wand between her palms. "-Now I suggest the rest of you eat up- classes begin in ten minuets-", she then reached into her pocket, handing Billius a pile of papers. "-These are your timetables- and I do beleive that you first years are with me this morning. It should be a pleasure getting to know each of _you_ -". She had a very specific focus on Black, giving him a strange sort of smile that could almost suggest that she were....weary of him.

"-Yes Professor-", they chimed to her delight - except for Sirius of course. He just glared at the woman, hating her, in that moment, with every fibre of his little being.

"-Great-". And with that she turned away from them, leaving only the first year girls, James and Peter laughing.

"-She's a menace-", whined Billius, "-You lot- start wearing your uniform properly, I beg you-". Marlene tugged down her skirt, thumping into her seat. "-Now- take your timetables- and please don't loose them-", he passed the papers to Dorcas, who began to hand them across the table, "-She'll kill me if I ask for more-".

-And ten minuets later, as stated before, the First years made their way into Minerva's transfiguration classroom, with Alice, Lily, Remus and Mary being first. The room had tall walls and plenty of desks, with a globe sat in the corner by some shelves of miscellanious objects. "-Do you two want to sit in the front row with us?-".

"-Sure-", agreed Lily, glancing behind her as Sirius stomped into the classroom, now wearing his Gryffindoor tie as James attempted to compliment the way it looked to raise his spirits, "-Anywhere away from Sirius-".

"-Agreed-", spoke Remus, joining the girls at the front of the classroom.

"-Mate- It cant be that bad being in Gryffindoor-", assured James, to which Sirius, ignoring him, crumpled his entire face, seeing no teacher in sight- yet instead a tabby cat sat propped up on the teachers desk, eyeing them all as they entered .

"-So _she_ can complain about me not wearing a tie-", Sirius flapped open his arms, "-But tell me where the moody old cow is now-". And James watched as the Tabby cat leapt up from the desk behind Sirius withg a great whooshing sound that slightly made Black regret his choice of words.

"-Behind you Mr Black-". His eyes shot wide as he slowly turned around with a slightly captured look on his face. "-But I assure you I am more feline than a cow-".

"-That was Brilliant -", exclaimed James, "-Are we going to learn how to do that?-".

"-No-", she responded plainly, "-Now- sit-". They both, quickly, made their way to their seats, placing themselves down as Minerva sauntered her way back to the front of the classroom with a smile, coming to rest against the edge of her desk. "-Now- Let me welcome you all to your Transfiguration class. I will be your Professor for the forseeable future, so I do suppose you should get used to seeing my face-". She leaned to her left, slapping a chalk board so that it flipped around, disrupting a cage that contained a stuffed bird, which Remus gave a rather weary look to.

**'They could just put them in cages at the bottom of the North sea then-'**

"-Remus-", Lily shook his shoulder, "-Are you okay?-".

"-Oh- Yeah-", he smiled , "-Just daydreaming-".

"-Now-", Minerva took her wand out, tapping it on board, "-Today we will be learning your transfiguration Alphabet-".

Black groaned. The Alphabet was for babies."-I know it already-". The class turned to Sirius. "-What?-".

"-Is that so, Mr Black?-", Minerva licked a little red lipstick from the inside corner of her mouth in a cat like way.

"-Yeah-", he responded, matching her tone of voice .

"-Well then-", she lifted a piece of chalk from her desk, holding it out towards him, "-Would you care to Write it out for me then Mr Black- and explain it to the class-".

Without question he stood, coming to snatch the chalk from her grasp- and he set to work on the board as she sat back, watching him in an intrigued manner as he drew circle after circle, letter after letter, until he had a perfect transfiguration Alphabet, before he turned back to his classmates. "-The transfiguration Alphabet-", he explained, "-Is a series of rune shaped motions corresponting with the letter they represent. Letters that are used to make up spells to transfigure objects such as a rat into a goblet of pumpkin juice-". He placed the chalk back down on the desk. "-Is that _correct_ , Professor?-".

"-Entirely Mr Black-", she returned, "-You are very smart-". And Instead of thanking the woman, he just turned away , heading back to his seat-to which she smirked.


	10. Have to be a Slytherin

Walburga rested into a chair in the tapestry room of twelve grimmauld place, sipping on an ironically soft cammomile tea whilst dramatic orchestral music played from an enchanted grammar phone in the corner, repeating the same piece over and over, as, beyond the door, Regulus paced up and down the hall, tugging at the button of his cuff as the clock ticked, and ticked, and ticked-until a metal clang came to the Grimmauld place letter box , which was an expected occurence indeed. And he lunged forwards as Kreacher aparated at the same time, giving Regulus a rather odd look as he snatched it away in a protective manner. "-Master Regulus? That is Mistress' letter. I must hand it to Mistress now before you -".

"-Shh-", he warned quitely, taking a quick look to the closed mahogany door, "-I need to see the letter- please Kreacher-". He looked down to the envelopes adress, turning it over to see the Hogwarts seal. "-Its about Sirius-".

"-But Mistress will know if you break the seal-", warned the elf, watching as he slipped his nail beneath it. Kreacher did not share the same care that Regulus did with 'Master Sirius'. He actually quite loathed him, especially after, when he was younger, he pinned a furry tail to his bottom and dog ears to his head from a teddy they had mutilated.

"-Well just re-seal it then-", he commaned to the elf, carefully flipping open the letter to eagerly peer at the contents.

_**Dear Mr and Mrs Black,** _

_**I am overjoyed to inform you that your son, Sirius Orion Black, has been placed under my care in Gryffindoor house. I, Minerva McGonagall, promise to aid him in settling into school correctly and ensure, in the coming years, that I help him as his Head of House to do the best of his potential as all students deserve. I am assured that he will find himself well suited to his Gryffindoor title, and embrace the morals we hold in all aspects of his life, not only in his studies but beyond the classroom as well and into a fruitful future . I beleive in the suportive enviorment that we provide that young Sirius will flourish into a grand and respectable wizard . You should be very proud.** _

_**Also, If you have any inquires or worries you may write to me directly, from issues of uniform, to attainment concerns. I hope to have the oppertunity to speak to you in the future.** _

**_Yours sincerily, M.M_ **

Regulus stared at the paper in horror, snapping his head up the Kreacher. "-What is it young Master?-".

"-Yes-", they both froze at the sound of Walburga's, who stood in the tapestry room doorway, voice.-And she swapped the hand in which she held her cup, reaching out the other towards the boy who seemed quite rather haunted. "-Whatever is the matter?-". He slowly stood, hesitant to give over the paper. He'd even half contemplated, in that moment, throwing the letter to the elf and instructing him to hide it somewhere where his mother my never find it. But then again, there was no way that he would disobey his Mistress for Regulus, and so, he reluctantly stepped towards her , handing over the paper. "-Don't open my letters again Regulus-".

"-Yes mother-", he looked down as she glanced away from him, bring her steely eyes to the words in which she read slowly, passing over that same particular word at least five times, before her hand slipped from her teacup, to which Kreacher ran forwards, diving to catch it before it smashed on the ground. And there it was. That dreaded silence before the storm. The storm that was their mothers anger.

Despite all of Minerva's assurances....it felt as though Sirius' fate had been sealed in that single title. A fate that no true Black would find for themselves. "-Regulus-", she spoke as calmly as she could, "-Please get your father from his study-".

"-But-".

"-Now!-", Walburga growled menacingly.

"-Y-Yes mother-", he quickly scurried away as she crumbled the letter in her hands, allowing her chest to rise and fall at a very fast, unsteady pace, throwing the crumpled paper to the ground as she stormed into the Tapestry room, beginning to pace back and forth with the word 'Gryffindoor' looming in her mind.

"-M-Mistress Walburga-", whispered Kreacher, seeing a glaze come to her eyes.

Her son was a Gryffindoor. Out of all of the houses he could have possibly landed himself within that would have been less of a disgrace, he was a Gryffindoor. And she was sure that he had some choice in the matter- no she knew he had a choice in the matter. Yet the hat judged on character. It meant that her son had a fragile character. One that was not befitting of his status. If it were to have been the hat would not have had to touch his head before placing him. But no. He was near just the same amount a disgrace as his cousin, and he'd been at the school just a day. Yet she should not have expected anything better, despite her husbands constant convictions. Sirius was destined for digrace. Destined to ruin not only his own reputation, but hers....and Regulus' as well. He may very well have been the worst Black to have ever existed...and the first to break their cycle of Slytherin prominence. Oh how the family would mock them. How they would mock her. How they would hate him. How Druella would revel in the fact that Walburga's 'perfect' son had such a weighty fault. And the scold on the tapestry where Andromeda's face had sat seemed to grow larger, and larger, and larger in her head, streatching all the way until covered Sirius' name as the music from the grammar phone grew louder and louder, until , she had enough, drawing her wand.

"- _REDUCTO_!-".

It exploaded into a thousand tiny pieces that flew furiously across the room, falling to the ground like shrappnell from a bomb.....leaving the woman in silence with her furious thoughts.

//////

"-Hey, _Slytherin_ -", smirked Marlene as Sirius and James placed themselves down at the Gryffindoor table where dinner had been served, which was far less extravagant than it had been the night before. It was what some Muggles would call 'Bangers and mash'. Well, that was what Lily had explained to Alice and Mary, who noded, preffering that name over its regular 'sausage and mash' title. "-How was your first lesson?-".

He returned her with a smug smile, slumping into his seat as Peter hurried along behind him in attempts to catch up with how fast Sirius had been sulking around the castle. "- _Great_ \- clearly-".

"-How lovely-". Mckinnon then scanned the faces of the first year girls, beleiving it to have been equal to ask both one boy and one girl about their day. "-How about you?- whats your name again-", she pointed with a mash covered knife, "-Ginger one-".

"-Lily-", she reminded kindly, not much enjoying being reffered to as the 'ginger one'.

"-Lily-", Marlene solidated herself, "-Did you learn much from Professor McGonagall?-".

"-I'd recon Sirius taught us more this lesson than her-", chuckled Alice, speaking over Lily, "-He got up and drew the Transfiguration Alphabet on the board and everything-".

"-Ohhhh- So you're going to make up for trying to run to Slytherin by becoming a teachers pet-", chuckled Mckinnon, scraping some mash onto her fork, "-How very noble of you-".

"-Shut your mouth-", growled Sirius, appeasing her quite a lot.

"-Marlene- didn't you not know what the transfiguration Alphabet was on your first lesson-", defended Frank, seeing that she was not going to help the fact that Sirius was clearly unhappy to be with them , and Sirius seemed to look a little less begrudging , but nowhere near happy. And Mckinnon pulled a face at him, continuing to eat her meal.

"-Why were you so definate on running away to Slytherin anyway ?-", questioned Billius, moving over a little so Daniel could sit down next to Alice, "-We aren't that bad?-".

"-Ali- Pass me a drink would ya' love-", he smiled to Fortescue.

"-Sure-", she responded, climbing to grab it when he could have very easily reached it himself.

"-You'll realise that not everything is about you -", Sirius unintentionally snapped, "-I _have_ to be a Slytherin--". Remus furrowed his brows, looking up from his food to the boy. He'd noticed something....interesting every time Sirius had said something similar to that. And that evening when they got back to the dorm room, he waited until everyone was settled and ready to get into bed, all dressed up in their sleep robes, before he spoke upon it.

"-Sirius-".

Black slowly turned to glare at him, finishing buttoning up his silk sleepshirt. "- _What?_ -", he hissed.

"-You always say....'have'-". James wiped the glass of his glasses with his sleeve, placing them on his nose.

"-What do you mean , Remus?-", he pressed as Peter pulled his bed covers up to his armpits.

"- Last night Sirius said he 'has to get into Slytherin'-", Lupin explained, crossing his long legs, "-And at dinner you said you 'have to be a Slytherin". Sirius still kept a stern face, not allowing his features to soften in the slightest. "-Why?-".

"-Thats none of your buisness-", he returned climbing into bed quickly, coming the pull the blanket up to his neck. And James gave him a frown.

"-Mate-", Potter spoke, realising that Remus was right.

"-I am not your mate-", he growled back, nustling into his pillow.

"-Sirius?-", he breathed.

"-Leave me alone Potter-".


	11. Singing Snivellous

**Sirius was in Grimmauld place again, yet it was not Grimmauld place at the same time. The checked floors were there, and green walls too, yet they shifted and changed every second to become something else entirely as he climbed the seemingly endless staircase, past their mothers wall of Elf heads that they had learned to pay no mind to and towards the landing of which him and his brother shared, coming to the back of his closed bedroom door. And he attempted to open it, but it had seemingly been locked. Yet he knew he had to get inside. He knew that he needed to be in there, for some reason or another. And he felt helpless to the fact that he could never open the door. So instead he slowly sat down onto his knees, coming to peer through the keyhole- and on the otherside, sprawled on the ground, was Regulus. His little brother....entirely still and lifeless. And he tried to call for him, he truely did, but no words would pass his tightened lips, especially not as a cold hand crawled over his shoulder....**

-And Sirius gasped, shooting up from his pillow, to which Remus, who should have well been asleep by then, brought a Transfiguration book down from his eyes, watching as Black panted fearfully. "-Black?-", he examined as the boy searched the darkness, seeing not Regulus, but James rolling about snoring and Peter entirely submurged in his blanket so that he looked like a little red mountain. "-Hey- You alright?-".

"- _Fine_ -", growled Sirius, collecting himself, "-Why wouldn't I be?-".

"-Because you almost just jumped out of your skin-", he closed his book casing, "- You were tossing and turning last night too you know....violent -".

"-Oh really?-", responded Black in a slightly vicious manner, "-So you watch me sleep then too?- Its not just staring at me in the great hall-".

"-Everyone's staring at you in the Great Hall. Especially after your show of not wanted to wear the Gryffindoor tie", he stated plainly, which was the truth. He hadn't been the only person to have been looking at him in that way, just Black hadn't bothered to notice everyone else.

"-And I bet you loved that- Probably chatter to the Muggleborn, short hair and dimples about me too-", Black hissed, "- _Look at him- The first Black to end up in Gryffindoor and he can't even put on the tie_ -".

"-Actually- no-", he responded, "-We talk about things that matter- like classwork. And 'the Muggleborn' has a name too. Its Lily Evans-". Sirius laid back onto his pillow, feeling his eyes get heavier by the moment.

"-Whatever, Scarface-". He was too tired to be bothered to speak to Remus further, and so decided to try and get some sleep...again. But instead he just ended up staring into the blackness, afraid that if he were to have closed his eyes he would have fallen back into that terrible dream yet again.

*******

The next day, the students of Gryffindoor house got the pleasure of meeting Professor Slughorn, having to make their way down to the potions classroom after breakfast in the Great Hall. And just to make Sirius' (who was very easily agitated that morning) life better, Snape was waiting outside of the classroom door all in his Slytherin robes and tie, with his greasy hair looking even greasier than usual- to which Lily squealed in delight , rushing past Alice and Mary to run straight into his embrace as Remus caught up with them, having not slept much himself. "-Sev!-", she cried in joy , "-I missed you-". He looked rather dumbstruck for a moment, before slowly closing his arms around her with a smile, furowing his head into her plaited hair. Well, that was until he spotted Sirius.

"-Look- Snivillous has got a girlfriend-", Sirius stated, "-Careful Muggle born- you might slide off of him-". James smirked, turning around to pretend to be oblivious as Lily pulled away from Snape, glaring at Black.

"-Leave him alone-", she stood infront of Severus with her little fists balled , and Remus frowned at them, finishing tying his tie.

"-Your just jelous Black-", he looked to the newest addition around blacks neck, and the patch that had been sewn onto his robes finally by the laundry elves, "-Red doesn't suit you-". And he took Lily's arm, bringing her into the classroom, followed by Mary and Alice, who whispered about Severus. And Peter hid behind James a bit, who gave a half smile to Remus as he passed by them, shaking his head at Black before stepping through the door.

"-What are you two doing too?- huh?-", snarked Sirius, glaring at James.

"-Waiting for you, numpty-", responded Potter, "-Come on Peter- someone didn't sleep last night-". Pettigrew nodded , scurrying after James, before Sirius decided to join them too, coming into the quite smoggy space that was filled with a clash of scents . The room was very dark, containing endless shelves of potions and bubbling couldrons , of which some of them had been placed at the back of the classroom for the Third years 'taster spell lesson'. And at the front of the room stood a smiling Slughorn with his thinning brown hair and jolly cheeks, wobbling on the spot as they came to the rooms two desks, with Sirius, Remus, Peter and James at one table, and with Severus, Lily, Mary and Alice at the other, who seemed a little put off by the Slytherin boy as he furrowed his brows with a yawn.

"-Are you okay Sev-", asked Lily, spotting him seeming rather tired.

"-Yeah-", he replied , "-I just couldn't sleep much last night. There was a lot on my mind-". He then sat up straight. "-What about you? - are you sleeping well?-".

"-Fine-", she said truthfully, but there was a bit of insincerity in her voice, "-But I just keep thinking about Petunia is alll-".

"-Well, Well, Welcome students-", all the conversations about the room were brought to a stop by the Professors jovial voice, "- I am Professor Slughorn, and I will be your teacher for the forseable future. I hope to get to know each of you and come to see your amazing talents!-". Sirius folded his arms on his desk, placing his head down into them . "-Now today,We shall just be doing some introductions to Potions to see what you already know and what I will need to teach you-". He clasped his hands together. "-So I will begin by asking you all a series of questions if that is okay-". He turned to his desk to glance down to a paper full of questions, scanning them quickly.

"-Oh Sev- Its been strange without you-", stated Lily as though Mary and Alice were not there at all, "-I'm sorry I didn't watch you get sorted too...I was dealing with...him-". She cocked her head to Sirius, who could have looked very much like he were sleeping, if not for him scraping at the wood of the table every so often. "-And everyone was talking- and I-".

"-Its fine Lily-", he looked into her big green eyes, "-You've done nothing wrong. You never have-". And she smiled to him kindly.

"-Thanks Sev-".

"-Sirius-", James sighed, "-Come on m....come on. You can't lay face down for the entire lesson-".

"-I don't care-", Sirius murmered into the wood of the table, as Remus leaned across it, having been about to take a book from the centre when a shadow came to loom in the classroom doorway. One that had been so unexpected that it nearly startled Professor Slughorn off of his feet.

"-W-Why Albus-", he greeted quickly, coming to meet him, "-Whatever can I do for you?-".

"-Nothing Horace-", spoke the man with a wize voice, giving a most curious look to Sirius, "-Mr Black, I am sure the table is not as interesting as Professor Slughorns class-". Yet despite the Headmasters comment, Sirius didn't bother to move.

"-S-Sirius-", worried Peter, "-Your going to get into trouble-". And through his hair, in the gap of his elbow, Peter caught a flash of his steely eyes, sinking back into his seat.

"-Sir- Are you here....for me?-", spoke Remus , not seeming very happy about it.

"-Yes Mr Lupin-", he responded vaguely , nodding to the boy.

"-Can't we speak about it afterwards sir-", he responded hesitantly, "-I-I don't want to miss my lesson...".

"-It'll take ten minuets at the most-", returned Dumbledore calmly, giving an assuring smile to Slughorn. And so Remus slipped the book beneath his arm, climbing off of his seat to meet Professor Dumbledore's side, and they walked out of the classroom together, begining to stroll up the Potions Corridoor.

"-What do you think thats about?-", wondered Alice, more so asking Lily who was just as confused as them.

"-I don't know-", she replied , looking to Severus for an answer- yet he just shrugged too, begining to read through the potions book as Slughorn made his way back to the front of the class.

"-Right- sorry about that class-", Slughon apologised, "-Now- the questions- I....oh they've slipped my mind again-". He sighed, "-Please, allow me a moment-".

"-Sirius-" spoke James again, elbowing him slightly, "-If you sit up we can.....mess with Snivellous-". And , as though rising from the grave, Sirius' head left the desk with a rather formidable smirk coming to his lips.

"-How?-".

"-Um-", James tried to think, looking to Peter for aid. Yet the boy just shrugged, deciding that he didn't want to give further imput. "-Do you know any spells?-".

"-I gave you that answer on the train-", replied Sirius, "-I know all the basic ones-".

Potter looked over to the table on which Snape sat. " -Jelly leg jinx?- I think thats what its called-".

"-No- Thats not fun enough-", responded Sirius, watching as Snape and Lily laughed together, "-Wait- I know what-". Black then drew his wand from his pocket, pointing it at Snape from the concealment of their table, and both James and Peter watch in anticipation as he twirled the tip about. "- _Cantis_ -". 

The next thing they knew, Snape suddely jumped out of his seat."-Sev?-", Lily gave him a confused look as his mouth opened, and he began to sing in the most monotone voice to have ever existed on the face of the planet. And James, Sirius, Peter, Alice and Mary burst into laughter as a very confused looking Slughorn turned around, placing his hands on his hips.

"-Heavens boy, what has gotten into you-", he wondered.

"-Oh thats Brilliant-", cried James, slapping his desk as Snape frantically pointed at his mouth.

"-Severus!-", concerned Lily, coming to glare at the three Gryffindoor boys, "-One of you have done something- haven't you-". She looked first to Sirius, and then to James.

"-Don't look at me-", he raised his hands, still laughing, "-I can't cast that-".

"-Oh dear-", Slughorn brought his wand out from his pocket, "- _Finite incantatum_ -". And Snape stopped singing, turning very, very red. "-Now- who casted that spell?-".

"-It was Sirius Black Professor-", pointed Lily, coming to help the embarissed Snape back into his seat, giving a short glare to Alice and Mary, who quickly clamped their lips together.

"-Hey you little sna-".

"-Mr Black-", silenced Slughorn, coming to the desk in which the Gryffindoors sat to look down to the boy who undoubtedly looked like the other Blacks he had met before. And he had been just as surprised as everyone else to find out that Sirius had been placed in Gryffindoor rather than Slytherin. It was highly unusual . "-I should give you at detention for that little show-". Snape nodded his head as though the man had been asking him for permission, slightly enjoying being fussed about by Lily. "-But seeing as this is my first lesson with you, I am inclined to let it slide-".

"-Really?-".

"-Really, Mr Black-", he returned calmly.

"-But-But!-", whined Severus as the man turned away from them- and Sirius gave him a smug look of pure entitlement.


	12. Drowning in gravey

"-Did you really make a Slytherin sing-", laughed Frank through a mouthful of pie. It was dinner again, and the entire Gryffindoor table was almost full, with Lily seemingly nowhere to be seen after running off after lesson with Severus. And Alice recalled Severus' terrible singing to the rest of the house over plates of pie and vegetables, of which Peter had stayed very clear of. And Remus, who had come back to lesson just after Sirius' antics were over, shifted his food around his plate with a sad look about him. "-Like get up and everything?-".

"-Yeah-", decreed Sirius proudly, tearing away at his pie with his fork, "-It was horrible-".

"-Blimey-", chuckled Billius, "-And Slughorn really didn't give you a detention?-". Sirius shook his head.

"-Of course he didn't give him a detention-", stated Dorcas knowingly, fixing her glasses, "-Slughorn loves the Black family. They're like his trophies. They're all over his office in these creepy pictures-".

"-Really?-". Sirius chuckled. "-Maybe we are just all too good looking and he doesn't want to forget our faces-".

"-Or maybe he fancies you all-", replied James, to which Peter giggled, "-Be careful , he might try and put a ring on your finger-".

"-Highly unlikely-", responded Sirius, shuddering at the thought.

"-Or maybe its because they were all intelligent _Slytherins_ -", teased Marlene, stabbing some cooked pepper, "-I wouldn't have been suprised if he was very sad about the fact that he lost himself a student, and a black at that, to Gryffindoor-".

"-Shut your mouth Mckinnon-", he hissed, to which she cocked her brow. He was already sick of what she always seemed to have to say to him- and he couldn't very well hex her for it....well...because she was a lady.....or a monster at best. Yet, there was something else he could do. An Marlene had been about to bring her goblet infront of her to her lips, when Sirius took a piece of his pie, throwing it across the table so that it thumped against her cheek- to which she shrieked.

"-Sirius- no-", warned Billius, looking behind him just incase Minerva had entered the room. The last thing him and Sirius needed was for her to see him throwing food across the table.

"-Oh is it like that Black!?-", She took her whole plate into her hands, flinging the contents. But her aim was a bit off, so she hit James and Peter instead, covering the pair of them in food that splattered onto Potters glasses and all over his face, to which Remus chuckled.

"-You think its funny do you?-", replied Potter, taking a glob from his face into his hands, and he threw it towards Remus, who ducked, allowing it to hit Alice, "-Oops-".

"-Oh its on Potter!-", she took the ladle from the gravey bowl, flinging the contents at James whilst hitting Sirius, just as he took another shot at Marlene. And Dorcas shook her head as Billius watched on in horror with most of the Great Hall.

"-I'm so dead-", he wheezed, "-I am so dead-".

Longbottom decided to join in, taking a hit of retaliation from Potter for Alice, to which he jumped up on the table, taking a bowl of mini -roast potatoes to pour on top of his head as Peter scurried underneath the bench for safety, not long after joined by Remus, who began to read. And Sirius climbed up onto the bench too, taking the entire pot of gravey into his hands, and without another thought he flung it all at Marlene, instead hitting the woman who now stood behind her. "-PROFESSOR!-", squeaked Billius, watching as the gravey dripped off of her hat like rain on an umbrella, trickling down her face and shoulders. And Sirius slowly lowered the pot onto the table as Marlene tried to wipe the food off of her. 

Alice hid behind Frank, who sank down at the same time as Potter into his seat- to which Black carefully climbed down from the table, attempting to tip-toe away."-MR BLACK!-", called Minerva, as the elder Slytherins entered the room, including Narcissa and Lucius, who's eyes immediately fell apon him and then his house memebers.

"-Sirius-", hissed Narcissa, "-What have you done?-".

"-MR BLACK COME BACK HERE AT ONCE!-", Minerva shook with rage- or at least what seemed like rage. Her lips were twitching upwards slightly in the corners and cheeks, turning red. And Sirius hesitantly turned back around to face the woman.

"-Professor McGonagall-", he smiled, watching as a completely unscathed Remus settled back into his untouched seat, re- opening his Potions book.

"-Right-", she looked around at all of them as Billius lifted one of the empty plates, covering one side of his face, "-I want all of you cleaned up and in the Gryffindoor common room in the next twenty minuets- do I make myself clear?!-".

"-Yes Professor-", the chimed as a glob of gravey splattered from her chin, nearly hitting Remus, who bit the insides of his mouth in attempts not to laugh.

"-You're um....dripping Professor-".

"-Thank you for that Observation Mr Lupin-", she returned, seizing up her shoulders to march out of the room.

******

Marlene, Sirius, Frank, Alice and James all sat on the sofa in the Gryffindoor common room, still wearing a bit of food in one way or another as Minerva stood before them, having managed to completely eradicate any inkling of gravey. And Godric did she seem unamused. "-That was completely reckless behaviour you four-", she hissed, "-Not to mention it was utterly unnaceptable and a waste of good food-".

"-Sirius started it-", blamed Marlene, pulling a crumb from her now scraggled blond locks.

"-Because _you_ teased me-", argued Sirius.

"- _You_ didn't need to throw pie at me!-", she argued, "-Look-I've got a bruise on my cheek from how hard you threw it-".

"-I think you look much better that way-", he returned smugly, to which Minerva cleared her throat.

"-Mr Black- would you mind telling me what Miss Mckinnon said to warrent such a _voilent_ reaction-", she questioned, to which the girl thumped her arms to her chest, groaning back into her seat.

"-She wont stop talking about the fact that I didn't get into Slytherin-".

"-Thats not true-", she retorted.

"-Actually- It is-", defended Longbottom, "-You havent shut up about it-".

"-Because he's acting like being a Gryffindoor is the end of the bloody world- and he's being a horrid sod !-", Marlene finally admitted, not sounding pleased in the slightest, "-I'm not going to stand for some entitled prat-". Sirius glared at her. "-moaning and complaining....". 

"-Is this true Mr Black?-", she placed her hands on her hips in a severe manner.

"-No...".

"-He's only been a sod to Marlene and Remus as far as i'm aware -", explained Frank.

"-Hey-", James chuckled, "-Who's side are you on?-".

"-Nobodys side-", he returned firmly, "-There shouldn't be any sides. We should all be together. We're Gryffindoors after all-". Black furrowed his brows. "-Even if some of us arent ready to accept it. We should be supporting eachother- not picking sides in an arguement that doesn't need to happen.....-". Frank softened his voice. "- Sirius, maybe if you took the time to get to know us you wouldn't think that Gryffindoors so bad.....-".

"-It has nothing to do with you....with any of you...-", he hissed, "-I have to be a Slytherin....or had to be. But theres....there probably no point now..-".

"-Whats going on?-", hissed Dorcas, who leaned against Billius as they listened into the conversation from the stairs to the dorms, joined by Remus, who was just reading rather than almost falling into view like the other two. And Peter was hovering beside him, worried that James and Sirius were going to get into a lot of trouble with Mary, who'd only just heard about the Situation. Yet as Sirius had been about to elaborate, the door opened to the Dormitory and Lily strolled in, blinking at the sight before her.

"-Miss Evans-", spoke Minerva, "-please make your way up to your dorm, the common room is currently in use-". Alice shot the girl a smile as she nodded quickly, making her way to the stairs. And she almost yelped in surprise at the sight of them being fully packed, with Billius practically dragging her out of sight, placing his finger to his lips. "-Now, Mr Black, you were saying that you 'had' to be in Slytherin?-". Remus looked away from the pages of his book, finally begining to pay attention, "-Would that have something to do with the fact that I had Miss Black in my office begging me to place you in Slytherin-".

"-Yes...-", he looked down- And Marlene slowly uncrossed her arms, coming to peer at him. "-All Blacks are in Slytherin, Professor...I had to be in Slytherin because thats what my family expects....". Alice glanced to Frank, who looked all too pitiful for Sirius.

"-Well did you want to be in Slytherin?-", pressed the woman.

"-Yes....I did....do- do want to be in Slytherin-", he took a deep breath, not at all liking the situation he had been placed in. It felt like he was surrounded, like a wounded dog circled by vultures. "-Professor I am.....I shouldn't have poured gravey on you- and Mckinnon I shouldn't have thrown pie at you...but I just got caught up in the....fun...that I didn't think...-".

"-It was quite funny you have to admit Professor-", stated James in Sirius' defence.

"-Funny or not- that kind of misbehaviour is not acceptable. You are young Wizards and Witches - not animals-", she lectured, rubbing her temples.

-And there was silence for a moment before Frank sighed, "-Pureblood families eh?-", to which the other students seemed caught off guard. "-My dad was dead set on me getting into Ravenclaw you know Black-said all these things about Longbottom this- Longbottom that ...determined old man ...". He then smiled. "....but you know my mum told me.... 'Frankie, wherever you end up you will do grandly , for it does not matter what house a Wizard belongs to, but what part of himself that placed him within that house that he chooses to act on'-". Minerva stayed silent, allowing Longbottom to continue talking. It seemed that he was more aware of the situation than herself. "-When I didn't get into Slytherin myself I was a bit iffy...but I quickly learned that the sorting hat placing me in Gryffindoor was the best thing for me....and I can't say it'll be the same for you...I don't know what its like in the House of Black- and a certainly don't entertain any of your beleifs-". Sirius shifted about uncomfortablly. "-But just give Gryffindoor a chance Sirius....and I'm sure that you will do great....". 

Dorcas smirked to Billius. "-Trust Longbottom to be the bringer of wisdom-". 

"-You know what Billius said to us all when we you lot went upstairs", continued Frank, to which Marlene frowned. "-'Give him a chance'..... And most of us are...so please, do the same for us. We don't bite...and you belong here Sirius...with us, just as the hat sa-". And with that Black stood, storming towards the stairwell where everyone stood, suddenly pinning themselves to the walls as he stomped past them, leaving Frank with his mouth still gaped open.

"-I think it best to leave him be for now Mr Longbottom-", stated Minerva, shaking her head slowly, "-and I will also have the pleasure of giving a couple of points to Gryffindoor house- for your kindness towards your peers... and motivation too.... -". Alice smiled at Frank, yet he did not return the same expression.

"-But- aren't you going to give us detentions Professor?-", wondered James, having expected at the least a deduction of house points for Sirius drowning her in gravey, rather than their amount being raised .

"-I shall allow it to slide-", she stated, "-As long as you never start a food fight again....And Billius-". The boy stumbled down the bottom step and into clear view. "-You may want to work on your stealth if you still plan to become an Auror. Heavens boy I could hear you breathing from over here-".

"-Y-Yes Professor-", he stuttered.


	13. Flipping

Sirius Black was very, very silent at breakfast the morning afterwards. Uneasily silent. And he'd spent that entire day moping about with spiteful looks to anyone who dared to open their mouths in his direction, going back to the dorm that night before everyone else and pretending that he was asleep when James and Peter got back . And the morning after that, which happened to be the last day of the school week, was no different. He stared down into his bowl of Cereal, mixing around the bits with the back of his spoon as the rest of his housemates, who had been present the evening of the foodfight , gave him pitiful looks. Well, those of them who were in attendance when they were being spoken to by Minerva that was. And Remus had not come to breakfast that day, nor had be been in the dorm when the boys had woken up. Actually, on another thought, he hadn't been there the morning before hand too- And because everyone was so focused on Sirius and he was usually very quiet, it had gone rather unnoticed, until Lily looked across to the spot in which he normally sat, seeing an empty space . "-Wheres Remus , James?-".

"-Huh?-", Potter followed her line of sight, "-Oh- I don't know?-".

"-You don't know?-", she shook her head, "-You're meant to be his roommate?-".

"-Don't sweat it Evans-", responded Billius, "-I got left a note this morning. Apparently he had to go home and deal with some family buisness-".

"-Family buisness?-", Marlene wrinkled her brows, "-Well that leaves a lot to the imagination?-".

"-Do you think it might have something to do with- you know-", Frank drew a line with his finger across his nose.

"-How am I meant to know?-", she replied, "-I haven't even spoken to him yet-".

"-F-Family buisness doesn't sound good-", stuttered Peter to James, who nodded a little in agreement, turning his attention back to Sirius , "-Hey Sirius- We've got flying today you know- Maybe you can show me that flip-".

"-Sure Potter-", he replied, slowly bringing a mouthful of milk to his lips as a great screech came from overhead.

"-Ah there we go- Mail-", announced Billius, watching as a handfull of owls swooped into the windows with letters wrapped into their claws. And they dropped them to open palms, with one snowy looking owl providing James with a letter that smelt awefully of butterbeer cookies and sweet perfume.

"-Mum and dad sent me a letter-", he grinned, ripping off the seal to open it out, "- _Dear James, Your father and I are so proud that you made Gryffindoor. Minerva seemed happy to have you in her house and your father hasn't shut up about it. He's been playing music for the last few days endlessley, telling just about every wizard at work. You know how excited he gets_ -". James' grin grew even wider.

"-Congrats Potter-", smiled Alice, catching a letter of her own, "-OH SWEET!-". She tipped a few galleons out from within the letter. "-Mum's said to give these to anyone going to Hogsmeade this year to get sweets for me and my friends-".

"-I love how she just assumes you've already made friends-", chuckled Frank.

"-Well she knows that I'm good at doing that, Longbottom-", she retorted with a smirk to the boy, which made him blush a little .

Sirius frowned at the joy all around him , not even moving when an owl landed right infront of him with a letter in its claw. He didn't want to know what his mother had to say to him, for he already knew what it would be. She'd curse him, and hiss at him. Screaming about how much of a disgrace he was being . "-That is one scary looking owl-", stated Mary, to which Peter nodded in agreement as it squaked at the top of Sirius' head with the most horrid of cries, doing so about five or six times.

"-Oh bloody hell Black- ", Marlene, after getting sick of its cries, snatched the letter from it's claw, tearing off the seal.

"-Mckinnon!- Give it back-", Sirius suddenly sprung into action, swatting across the table for it as the bird flapped away, whilst she cleared her throat, raising her nose in a prestegious manner.

"- _To Sirius.....Disgrace is not the word I would use to describe my feelings towards your current placement....We are highly dissapointed in you_ -", she furrowed her brows, giving Sirius the chance to snatch his letter back.

"-Who said you could read my letters _Mckinnon_ -", he hissed.

"-Sirius I....-". She looked away, not able to imagine how horrible it would have been to have her own mother saying something so terrible about her .

"-Oh bloody hell- who cares any way-", they all watched as he tore up the letter, throwing it into his bowl of cereal so that the paper all turned to mush, "-I am a dissapointment-I already know-". He brought a great smile onto his face, deciding to change the subject. "-Anyway-What lesson did you say we had next James?-".

"-Flying...-", answered a slightly startled Potter.

"-Great!- Perfect-", he inhailed sharply, "-I think I might try your standing flip. you'll be doing it with me though incase I hurt myself. I wont be sitting in the hospital wing alone-". They fell a little silent. "-What?- Why have you all stopped talking?-".

"-Sirius...are you okay?-", worried Frank, seeing that his rather fast change in attitude did not seem good.

"-Fine-", he responded, "-What is with all the gloomy faces- and you too Mckinnon-". Marlene, personally, had a more apologetic look written all over her face rather than a gloomy one. "-That look doesn't make you any prettier you know- My Familys house elf looks bet-".

"-Lily-". Yet, unknown to everyone at the Gryffindoor table, Sirius hadn't been the only one to receive a bad letter. Snape had been just across the hall when his familys straggled looking owl had thrown a letter into his hands, and on the inside he had found a rushed note from his mother. Tobias Snape had returned from a little 'trip' he had taken that summer, and the mess he had made to the Snape house was anything less than good. She seemed distraught, and without Severus, she was all alone with his father. And Severus didn't know what to do, looking between the paper and Mulciber, who sneered up at him every so often, until he realised that there was one person that he could talk about it with. One person that knew. Lily.

"-Sev-", she examined his face, knowing the look all to well. She'd seen it a few times when she'd spotted him lurking ouside of her house, waiting for her to come out whilst Petunia glared at him. "-Oh dear- is it your....-". Lily paused upon the look she received, forgetting that Sirius was only two students away.

"-Hey greasy-", growled Sirius, "-get lost-". He stepped out from his seat , during which Snape noticed the letter in his cereal bowl.

"-I'm sure thats not where letters belong, Black-", he drawled, seeing Blacks eyes jump every so often to the patch on his robes that signified the house in which he had desired to reside in.

"-I suggest you shut your mouth- Or I'll make you sing again-", he threatened, coming to stand over him with his hand slolwy shifting to his wand pocket.

"-Trust me Black-", he narrowed his eyes, "-I wont give you the chance-".

"-What are you going to do?-", he pulled mocking crying face, sniffing, "-Snivell?-".

"-You don't know who you are messing with-", returned Severus, pushing up to the fronts of his shoes so that he matched Sirius' height.

"-Don't I-", Sirius snarked, "-Snivill-ous. Mummys little prin-".

"-Sev-", Lily pushed up from her seat, taking Severus by the arm, "-Come on. We can go and walk the grounds before class-".

"-Yeah-", agreed Sirius, "-get him out of here Muggleborn-".

"-Excuse me-", growled Snape, "-She has a name you entitled , disrespectful-".

"-Boys!-", halted Billius, slapping his spoon into his bowl, "-Come on- I can't take getting told off three days in a row. And kid, Don't make me have to tell Malfoy that you arent listening when a Prefect is talking to you ". Snape then wrinkled his large nose, before allowing Lily to lead him away. "-Black your gonna' have me in the hospital wing if you carry on-".

"-I'll put him in the hospital wing-", he replied, half tempted to hit him with another jinx.

******

"-Hello class-". The Gryffindoors and Severus stood out on the still sunny schools grounds before a woman with short grey hair and strange yellow eyes, who held a broom in her right palm speaking with a quite booming voice, "-I am Madame Hooch and I am your flying instructor in this class-". Sirius glared past James to Severus, and Snape, to him, before having his attention stolen by the quite aprehensive Lily. She'd never been on a broom before, and the prospect of flying was definately rather unsettling to say the least. She'd been on a plane before, but it had enclosed sides with comfortable seats and safety mechanisims. A broom was entirely different . "-I will not have any foolish behaviour or interruptions in my class- and anyone doing anything that can be deemed as such will be banned from flying for a month-".

"-I'm still going to try it-", announced Sirius to James, who shook his head with a chuckled. He'd been saying the same thing all the way to class, talking about how he was going to flip standing up before Potter because he was the better flier, causing the pair of them to have gotten into a minature arguement over who was going to fall first.

"-Fine-We'll do it at the same time then-", he held his hand out to Black, "-Deal-".

The boy took it. "-Deal-".

"-Now- beside you , you may see that there is a broom. Today we will be practicing getting the broom to our palms-", she dropped her broom, "-Like-".

"-Like this Professor-", interjected Sirius, holding his hand over the broom, "-Up-". It shot into his palm quickly, without any resistance or hesitation.

"-Yes- Mr Black-", she held out her palm, "-has just shown us a prime example of an interruption-". Severus smirked as Alice and Mary chuckled at him. "-Would you kindly put your broom back on the ground, Mr Black-".

"-But its in my hand already-", he argued, "-Whats the point in putting it down if I am about to pick it up again?-".

"- _Mr Black_ -", Madame Hooch warned, glaring at him, "- _down_ -". And he reluctantly placed the broom down on the ground like a disobediant dog.

"-For what its w-worth-", jittered Peter , "-Y-You did it really quickly-".

"-Of course I did-", responded Sirius cockily.

"-Now, If you would all place your right hands over the brooms- without lifting it, Mr Black-". The students all followed the motion, with Alice suddenly giggling.

"-It looks like we all are about to start dancing-". Marry bobbed her head with a smirk, and Lily did the same. She recalled seeing a particular girl group on the front of one of Petunia's music magazines posing much like they were with Microphones in their other hand.

"-Like this-", James began to wiggle his hips left to right, to which the girls seemed even more amused, including Evans, warrenting a frown from Snape.

"-Don't you think he's an idiot?-", Severus stated dissaprovingly, pointing his large nose upwards as very refined witches and wizards would.

"-What Sev?-", asked Lily, having not heard him over James' behaviour.

" _-Nothing_....-".

"-Mr Potter-", scolded Madame Hooch, "-It would be much appreciated if you would stop wiggling your bottom about-".

"-Sorry Professor-", he smiled, sniggering to Sirius.

"-Now-", she cleared her throat, "-I need you to say 'Up' in the most clear voice you can- and the broom should levitate into your palm-".

"-Up!-", called Sirius first, catching the broom.

"-Mr Black- I did not say 'go'-", warned Madame Hooch, to which he gave her an exahsperated expression, "-But I suppose you may as well keep it up this time. Now, the rest of you-".

"-Up-", called James, being the next person to command his broom into his hand, then Alice and then Mary too, which left Peter, Severus and Lily struggling, barking at their brooms like a pack of wild dogs.

"-Up!-Up!-", commanded Lily, watching as it wriggled around on the ground. Yet she was doing better than Severus, who's broom didn't even move- and when it did it swung upwards, whacking into his large nose, which set Sirius and James off laughing. "-Ignore them Sev-", replied Lily, noticing a furious look come over his face.

"-Look Snivillous- Even the brooms scared of being touched by your grease -", James snorted at Sirius' insult.

"-Say that again Black, and you'll regret it-", he growled.

"-Ooooh- scary-", he gave him a disbeleiving chuckle, "-Muggleborn, how can you even touch him. I can smell the greaseball from here-".

" _-Oh_ -Why wont you leave him alone-", complained Lily, "-What on earth has he done to you?-".

"-I already told you that-", Sirius snapped back, "-how is mummy dearest by the way Severus-".

"-Currently held in higher regards than you, Black-", he spat back as Billius ran through the stone archway that lead to the area in which the first years were, looking entirely out of breath with a sheet of paper in his hand.

"-Madame Hooch!-", He stumbled to a stop, nearly toppling into her, "-I need to talk to you about the tryouts-".

"-I am currently teaching a class- Mr Weasley-", she responded, gesturing to the students, "-Honestly, I had enough of Mrs Prewett interrupting my classes- I do not want you to take her place-".

"-It'll only take a minuet- please Madame- Its important-". He clasped his hands together hopefully, batting his eyelashes.

" _Oh_ -Okay-", she looked across them all, "-Don't do anything stupid- We are just going to be through the archway-".

"-Yes Professor-", they all chimed as she hurried after Billius, leaving the first years alone with their brooms. And Sirius was the first one to set into motion, hopping onto his. "-Come on James-".

"-What are you doing?-", questioned Alice, watching as Potter hopped onto the broom too, begining to float alongside Black.

"-We aren't aloud o-on brooms-", worried Peter, "-guys get down-".

"-Shut your cake hole Pettigrew- We're trying something-". They all watched as the two boys floated higher into the air until they were above their classmates heads. "-Ready Potter-".

"-Ready Black-". They both carefully stepped up onto the neck of their brooms, flapping their arms as to not fall down, feeling surges of adrenaline shoot through them. Well ,that was until they heard a horrified shriek.

"- MR POTTER!- MR BLACK! - WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING?!-", worried Madame Hooch, as Billius stared in disbeleif at the two first years balancing on brooms like some kind of circus act.

"-Flying!-", returned Black, grinning to James.

"-Get down!-Both of you!-", she commanded , readying her broom, when Billius placed a hand on her forearm.

"-Wait a moment Professor-".

"-How did you flip James?-", wondered Sirius, teetering Backwards and forwards so that the broom bobbed up and down.

"-You sort of just shoot down and lean back-", he stated, "-But It recommend holding on when you're upside down-".

"-Okay-", he beamed .

"-Sirius your going to fall!-", warned Alice, as Peter burried his face fearfully into the side of Mary's robes.

"-Three- Two - One!-". Both boys shot down, leaning onto the back of the brooms so that that were parrallel with the ground. Yet James immediately lost his footing, slipping with a thump into the grass as Sirius grabbed onto the broom with all of his might, flipping right over so that he landed back up on his feet, teetering . "-YES SIRIUS!-", praised James as he triumphed in the acheivement- And Madame Hooch blinked at the boy, quite flabbergasted.

"-Well I never-", chuckled Billius.

"-Peter-", Mary tapped him on the shoulder, "-Its fine- Sirius is fine-". And he slowly peered to see Black laughing ontop of the broom with his hair sticking out wildly.

"-Now w-will you please get down Mr Black!-", called Madame Hooch, finally finding the words she had lost for a few moments as James sat up.

"-Ow-ow-ow-ow-", he quickly met the back of his neck with his palm.

"-James!-", Lily darted from Severus', "-Are you okay?-".

"-Yeah Evans-", he chuckled, "-Just hurt my neck is all-".

"-Well you shouldn't have done something so stupid-", she held out her hand to him, "-here-".

"-Thanks -", he smiled, taking it to come, for a rather long moment, to stare into her large emerald eyes, which seemed ever brighter in the sunlight. And in spurt of jelousy and resentment, Severus turned his gaze onto Sirius.

"-Wohooo-", laughed Sirius, before suddely loosing his footing. And he fell so that his bottom landed on the broom, which jolted backwards and forwards. "-What's going on?!-".

"-Mr Black, that is enough now!-", commanded Madame Hooch, "-Come down this instant!-".

"-I'm trying!-", he argued, nearly being whacked in the face as the broom bucked upwards- And he wrapped his arms around it, as it tipped upside down ,shaking him voilently so that his words came out all jumpy, "-It w-o-o-o-o-o-nt st-o-o-o-o-p-". Lily snapped her head around to Severus, who immediately clamped his lips shut, and the broom stoped shaking, falling to the ground with Black .

"-SIRIUS!-", James came to his aid with Madame Hooch and Billius, "-Are you alright mate?-". He helped Black to sit up as he turned bright green, unable to keep them all in focus. "-What happened?-".

"-I don't know-", he breathed, slolwy returning to his normal colour- And Lily stormed towards Severus, being noticed only by Peter, who listened into their conversation.

"-You did that- didn't you Sev?-".

"-Yeah-", he responded proudly, "-It was brilliant- wasn't it Lily-".

"-No!-", she cried, "-You could have hurt him-".

"-And why do you care?-", Severus searched her eyes, "-He's horrible to you too-".

"-I care because....because its still not right- Even if he hexed you first in Slughorns class, theres no reason for you to do the same back. Its just an endless circle-".

"-Lily-", stopped Snape, taking her by the shoulders, "-he deserved it- trust me-".

"-Like Petunia deserved you hexing her this summer?....".

"-She was mean to you-", he argued.

"-But you cant just do stuff like that to people-".

Severus was a little taken aback. She'd never argued with him like that before. Never. They always agreed on things, or if anything she wouldn't speak about it. "-Lily....are you upset with me-", he frowned , "-h-have I upset you...".

"-No-No-", she responded a little frantically, "-just....oh, don't do it again Sev. Please. If anyone finds out you could get in trouble-". Peter looked to Sirius, then to Lily and Snape. And he wished, a little bit, that he hadn't overheard them- because then he wouldn't have felt like he had to tell Sirius.


	14. Peter's Squeak

"-Banned from flying-", Sirius flapped back onto his bed, "-great-". After lesson they'd been sent straight back to the dorm, and Peter had followed quickly after them, not wanting to be left strolling around by himself. "-I tried to get down-".

"-At least its only for a month-", replied James, taking off his robes so that he were left in his shirt and trousers, "-it could have been forever-".

"-I-i did tell you to get down-", stated Peter, taking a running hop up onto his bed, "-You didn't listen-".

"-I did listen-", Sirius responded, "-I told you to shut your cake hole- remember?-".

"-Y-Yeah-", Peter looked down. He did remember. "-You know -I don't eat cake-".

"-What?-", chuckled James.

"-I don't like cake-", reiterated Peter, bouncing a bit on the matress, "-I don't like icing-".

"-I find it hard to beleive that _you_ don't like cake-", responded Sirius, glancing to James as he rubbed the back of his neck, "-Does it really hurt?-".

"-Nah-", he stated, "-Better than splitting my eyebrow-".

"-Y-You split your eyebrow!-", shuddered Peter. He'd never split his eyebrow. Actually he'd never split anything. His mum would have stopped him from doing anything that could lead to him hurting himself. He'd only even ever scraped his knee once in his life.

"-Yeah-", James pulled up his hair, pointing to the split, "-It hurt-".

"-Did you cry?-", questioned Peter, coming to sit on his knees.

"-Well, yeah- It really hurt-", replied Potter honestly , to which Sirius wrinkled his nose.

"-I've never cried-", he stated proudly.

"-Wow. Have you really-". And Sirius nodded, holding his head high just as the door to the dorm opened, and Remus stepped in.

"-Lupin!-", exclaimed James, looking him up and down. He had a fresh cut lining his neck, with heavy bags beneath his eyes that were bloodshot tired .And his clothes had very clearly been thrown onto his body in a hurry, with his shoe flapping off of his foot at the back from slipping over once. "-What happened to you?-".

"-I - uh- I had a family thing-". He had not expected the boys to be in the dormitory, and slightly regretted walking in at that moment.

"-And what happened to your neck?-", Sirius narrowed his eyes at it.

"-I - uh- fell-", he slipped off his shoes, shuffling his way towards his bed.

"-You fell?-", Black watched as he climbed into it, coming to lay his head down on the pillow- And he nodded with a yawn.

"-Do you want us to go downstairs?-", asked James, "-We can leave if you need to sleep-".

"-No-No-", he responded, "-You lot are fine where you are- I'm awake-". He stretched his arm, wincing as his shoulder clicked. "-Did I miss anything interesting?-".

"-Sirius fell off of his broom-", stated James with a chuckle.

"-I didn't fall-", argued Black, "-I swear- it started jumping around- trying to throw me off!-".

"-Jumping around-", Lupin furrowed his brows. He's heard of something like that before, but the right word for it continually evaded his mind, until he captured it on its third passing. "-I think someone hexed the broom you were on-". And Sirius immediately jumped to his feet on his bed.

"-Thats it!- Someone hexed me-", Sirius pointed at Remus, "-Do you have any idea who in our year could do that?-". Peter clamped his mouth shut, begining to play with his chubby fingers.

"-I don't know anyone in our year- If you haven't noticed-", Lupin replied, "-I've only spoken to the girls once or twice.....and it isn't like you have....welcomed me with open arms...-".

"-Wait....-", James furrowed his brows, "-You haven't made friends yet?-". Lupin shook his head.

"-That doesn't matter right now-", Sirius hopped off of the end of his bed, landing in the centre of the room, "-We have to find out who hexed me!-".

"-Well it wasn't me- and no offense, but I doubt it was you Peter-", Pettigrew nodded quickly, "-And Remus wasn't even here-". James scratched his head. "-Unless it was someone older-".

Pettigrew frowned. "-....Sirius- I kno-".

"-Well it had to have been one of the girls-",stated Sirius, cutting Peter off.

"-Why would the girls hex you?-", Remus then thought on it again, "-actually you don't need to answer that..... And I'd wager if it was any of the girls it would have been Evans-".

"-What?-".

"-Thats true-", continued James.

"-Guys....-", Peter spoke, being completely ignored again.

"-You are quite rude to her-".

"-How am I rude?-",argued Sirius.

"-You call her 'the Muggleborn-", replied James, pressing his glasses with his thumb, "-I mean its better than being called a ....you know what...".

"-A _Mudblood_ -", spoke Sirius easily, to which Remus raised his brows, "-What?-Everyone says it-".

"-Well then next time adress Lily as that-", responded the boy, seeming a little less tired, "-I'm sure she'll appreciate it-".

"-No- don't do that-", James held his hand to Lupin, "-And it's a horrible word Sirus. Only...certain types of people use it-".

"-Rascists-", announced Lupin, "-Such as you-".

"-What is a racist?-", Sirius looked as though he were going to laugh, "-Ive never heard of that before-".

"-Most likely because you are one-".

"-Sirius is not racist-", James turned back to Black again, "-And Racist is the Muggle equivalent of a....certain witch or Wizard who is normally Pureblood who hates Muggles, Muggleborns and Half-bloods alike-".

"-I don't neccisarily _hate_ them-", stated Sirius.

"-There we go-", smiled James prematurely.

"-If anything I just think they're less powerful than us Purbloods -My parents are the ones who hate them. They're pointless so I don't really spent much time thinking about them- ".

"-Oh godric-", Potter sighed.

"-Excuse me-", responded Lupin, sitting up, "-You do realise that I'm a half-blood?-".

"-So?-".

"-So?-", Remus shook his head, "-I find that offensive -And you've just proved my point in _proving_ that your racist-".

"-I don't seen how that is 'racist'?-", he wrinkled his face, "-You are confusing me-".

"-Well maybe you should put your lips together and keep them that way and you will never have to be confused again-", retorted Remus.

"-GUYS!-". They all fell silent, looking to Peter who had his fists balled , matching Sirius's stance on the opposite bed . "-I-I know who hexed your broom Sirius. It was Snape-".

"-Snivellous-", scoffed Sirius in disbeleif, "-Like _he_ would know how to jinx a broom-".

"-Its true!-", squeaked Peter, "-Lily went to him and told him off afterwards and he said that you deserved it!-".

Black shook his head, refusing to beleive that he had been bested by Severus Snape. "-Are you sure Peter?-", asked James, to which the boy nodded so hard he nearly threw himself off of his bed, "-thats not surprising actually- he was sure to get you back for the singing- and after you two in the Great Hall....-".

"-What happened in the Great Hall?-", asked Remus.

"-They had an arguement-", James explained.

"-That greasy haired, big nosed.....I am going to hex him so hard!-", growled Sirius, stomping his feet like a fussy toddler.

"-And I am having no part in that-", responded Remus, lying back down onto his pillow.

"-Fine-", snarked Sirius, ready to storm from the room.

"-Wait -Sirius-". Black stopped. "-Wait until tommorow at least-".

"-But Potter- he could have hurt me-", he waved his hands, "-And _nobody_ gets away with direspecting a Black. I'd rather die than let him get away with it!-". 

"-I get that......just , you'll get into more trouble by leaving the Common area-", he explained, "-Plus he'll either be in the Great Hall by now or in the Dormitories- and even if we went down there i'm pretty sure that nobody would let you in to hex the first year...". James lowered his voice, trying to appeal to Sirius. "-...And your cousin will be there too-".

**_'What have you done'_ **

Sirius frowned, knowing, and hating the fact that Potter was right. He'd never seen Narcissa look so dissapointed in him before when he'd attempted to sneak out of the Great Hall. He'd never actually seen her look dissapointed in anybody. It was the type of look that wasn't easy to forget"-Fine-", he then sighed, slapping his hands to his thighs.

"-Good-", stated James, "-and anyway- what hex are you planning on using on him?-". He smirked, shifting towards the front of his bed. "-You've got to get him good for what he did-".

"-Something mean-", Sirius stated, begining to pace up and down, "-something horrible....".

"-Like A bat bogey?-", inquired James.

"-No-", he shook his head, sounding a little sinister.

"-Why am I forced to share a room with idiots-", Remus muttered sleepily.


	15. Snot river

The next morning, James , Sirius and Peter woke up early, getting dressed in their regular clothes with Peter and James stuffing themseleves into their muggle jumpers and trousers, seeming very under dressed compared to Sirius , who wore a shirt and waistcoat, with fitted trousers and polished shoes, keeping his wand firmly in his grasp. And whilst Remus slept they left the room, making their way down to the common area where Billius, Lily, Alice, Marlene, Frank and Dorcas sat in their Pyjamas, doing homework or sipping on cups of tea. And as Sirius hopped down the bottom step, Frank chuckled. "-Jesus Christ Black- How much does that one outfit cost?-". He shrugged. "-You look ready for a funeral-".

"-Well- you could say that-", he responded , quickly making for the door- to which Billius lowered his tea cup, almost spilling it on Dorcas' homework.

"-Please tell me that I have nothing to be worried about-", he groaned.

"-You have nothing to be worried about-", smiled James, snatching Peter by the wrist to drag him out of the room after Sirius, to which Marlene laughed.

"-And you thought I was bad-", she shook her head.

"-They haven't even been here a week and I already want to quit Prefect duties-", Dorcas raised her brow.

"-They can't really be that bad- can they?-".

"-You have to admit- Billius-", started Alice with a little yawn, "-that Blacks trick was pretty cool yesterday-". Lily frowned, looking into her tea cup.

"-Well- yeah-", he agreed, "-until he fell-".

"-What did he do?-", asked Frank, being very behind everyone else.

"-Flipped standing up on a broom-", replied Marlene as though it were the most normal thing on earth.

"-Woah-", laughed Frank, "-I wish I could have seen that-".

"-And I wish that the almost the entirety of last years team hadn't been basically Seventh years-", groaned Billius, "-Its going to be so Bloody hard to get players-".

Lily placed down her cup on the table infront of her, deciding to ask the real question they should have all been asking. "-Where do you think the boys were going?-".

"-Have they left already?-", asked Remus, stepping sleepily down the final step.

"-Woah-", Longbottom frowned, "-Lupin- you look rough-".

"-Thank you-", he smiled sarcastically, coming to sit down on one of the sofas. He couldn't sleep , but he was far too tired to be gallivanting around.

"-Where have they gone?-", pressed Lily, standing up from her seat.

"-I believe they have gone....-", he furrowed his brows, not remembering much from the day before hand, "-Um....". He scratched his head. "-Oh yeah....they're going to hex Snape for messing with Sirius' broom...". Billius fumbled his cup as Remus blinked back at the sea of shocked faces tiredly, before suddenly realising what he had said. "-Wait they're going to hex Snape?- And they've dragged Peter into it-".

"-And you only care about Peter?-", squealed Lily.

"-Well Sirius can get himself hexed back to London for all I care-", returned Remus.

"-Oh dear god why must you punish me-", Billius cried , "-Dorcas, grab your wand-".

"-W-What are you going to hex him back?-".

"-We are going to stop those idiots-", he stated, standing up.

"-Oh I have to go to Sev-", worried Lily.

"-No- nobody else is going anywhere- Until I'm back Mckinnon's in charge- and if you need a prefect....Miss Featherly is sleeping upstairs-".

"-What!?-", squeaked Frank as Marlene celebrated.

******

"-How are we gonna' find him?-", Asked James, sticking close to Sirius, and Peter to him so that they walked in a bundle down the moving stairwell, "-He could be anywhere. It'd be easier to find him if we have one of those thingys-".

"-Tracking devices?-", offered Peter.

"-yeah- those-", nodded Potter as they camed to the entry hall, with Sirius holding out his arm infront of James and Peter, "-What are you doing?-".

"-Waiting?-".

"-But we don't even know if he's in there?-", stated Peter reasonablly.

"-Look around us-", scanned Sirius, "-I highly doubt anyone else is already waltzing about. pffft Waltzing-". He chuckled to himself. "-I hate that dance-".

"-Okay- and what are we going to do if someone comes out before Snape?-", Stated James, "-What if we accidentally hex them instead?-".

"-We wont-", stated Sirius sternly. And to their 'luck' at that exact moment, Severus stepped out of common room, marching his way quickly down the hall. And he would have marched straight into the boys trap, if not for him hearing something strange. So he paused, furrowing his brows. _'This is a bad idea. This is bad idea'_. The same words swirled around in his head. Yet they were not in his voice, or in fact, his thoughts at all, which was strange. How on earth did he have someone elses thoughts? He'd never heard of anything so obsured? It was a strange feeling indeed. Strange and peturbing. Yet something told him that he would have done well to listen. So he drew his wand from his jacket, holding it out ahead of him until he saw the edge of someone, twirling his wand.

"- _Mucus ad Nausem_ -".

Suddely Peter yelped, grasping for his nose. "-Peter whats wrong!?-", Potter placed a hand on his shoulder, watching as a flood of snot began to pour from the sides of his hands, spilling out all over the ground beneath them.

"-MY NOSE!-", he cried into his palms feeling a little dizzy. And as he wobbled, Severus sprinted out of the entrance to the Slytherin corridoor.

"-OI!-", Sirius chased after him, following him out of the door and onto the grounds.

"-Oh no-", James let go of Pettigrew, "-Stay right here Peter!- I'll be back-". He lept over the river of snot, sprinting for the door.

"-Get back here Snivellous !!-", called Sirius, diving over the edge of a pathway and onto the Hogwarts grass.

"-Leave me alone!!-", Called Snape, half turning towards them. And he waved his wand at him whilst running, instead hitting James, who immediately choked.

"-BIrius-", he furowed his brows, "-Blirus Stomp ranbing-". He couldn't talk. Everything was just coming out as gibberish.

"-STOP RUNNING YOU COWARD!- YOU THINK ITS FUNNY TO HEX ME!-", he raised his wand, "- _CALVORIO_ -". He struck forwards as Snape ducked , hitting the castle wall instead of him, turning towards the line where the Forbidden forest begun.

"-Blirius- STOB!-", tried James, flapping his arms frustratedly, but Sirius didn't listen, following Snape into the forest.

"-So what did you say next-",chuckled Narcissa, holding onto Lucius' arm as they strolled along the Slytherin corridoor, coming to the steps when she shreiked, hopping away from a green puddle, "-What is that?!-". Malfoy wrinkled his nose.

"-Snot?-". They carefully stepped around it, finding Peter whining on the stairs as Billius and Dorcas came racing down behind them.

"-Oh dear-", she responded, holding her wand over Pettigrew as he blubbered, "- _Finite incantatum_ -". And his nose stopped pouring, leaving him sniffling in a great big puddle.

"-What on earth is happening here?-", Malfoy winced his eyes to Billius menacingly, "-This wouldn't have something to do with you-".

"-Well-", Billius hopped over the puddle, beginning to race out of the hall, "-he's not related to me!-".

"-What?-", Lucius furrowed his brows, entirely confused.

"-Oh dear Salazar-", Narcissa drew her wand from her pocket, "-Its Sirius!-".


	16. Greasy fish

"-Stop running GREASBALL !-", Sirius hopped over tree trunks, sliding his way past stones as Severus struggled to stay ahead of him, ducking hex after hex. Black was relentless, and he wouldn't give up until he got him, having, after a while, nearly forgotten as to why he was even chasing him in the first place- fueled purely by desire . All he knew was that he had to get Severus. There was no other option. He had to hex Snape back- and he would only be content when he saw it through. 

"-Stop chasing me then!-", Snape dove through some bushes, tripping over a stone that he hadn't seen so that he stumbled into a clearing of the trees, landing flat out on his back as Sirius manuvered to him, stricking forwards.

"- _Locomotor mortis_!-", the spell lept from the tip of Siriu's wand, stricking the downed boy- and Severus began to flap about , unable to move his legs, "-Serves you right- now your a greasy fish-".

"-Alright Black !- you've hexed me-", he growled, "- now leave me alone-".

"-No-", Sirius tightened his jaw. He still didn't feel content, even though he'd gotten the boy. "-You tried to hurt me!-".

"-So what if I hexed your broom- you've cursed my legs!-", he made a show of wriggling just to prove his point, "-Thats two times you've attacked me! In a week!-".

"-You hexed Potter and Pettigrew too!-", argued Sirius, keeping his wand firmly on Snape.

"-And what- Are you trying to say that you are sticking up for your _f_ _riends_?-", Snape glared at him, "-I'm sure your mother will be very proud-".

"-YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WALKS AROUND WITH A MUD-!-", he hissed, to which Snape met his wand with Sirius' even though he'd stopped himself from finishing the word. 

"-How dare you call her that!?-", he narrowed his eyes, "-Just GO AWAY!- LEAVE ME!-". 

"-No!-".

"-BUT YOU'VE DONE WHAT YOU WANTED TO DO!-", Severus barked back, "- And I only hexed your broom to get pay back!- And clearly you would have done the same!-". His hand shook about his wand.

Sirius furrowed his brows, almost able to feel the sensation of his mothers hand climbing over his shoulder. "- Y-YOU DISRESPECTED ME!-", he sounded less as though he was accusing Snape, and more as though he were attempting to justify his actions , "-I AM SIRIUS ORION BLACK- THE NOBLE SON OF THE NOBLE HOUSE OF BLACK- AND YOU DISRESPETCED ME!- AND NOBODY GETS AWAY WITH THAT!!-".There was a strange look in Sirius' eyes. It was one that sent a shrill of fear up Severus' spine. One that made his chest sink and all of his childish emotions rise.It was a look that he'd often seen his father give his mother before a fit of rage- And so he began to snivell, attempting to writhe away from Black.

"-I am sorry!-", suddenly blurted Snape, causing Sirius to pause, lowering his wand as the september breeze came to brush against his cheek.

**_"-I , Sirius Orion Black the third.....Swear to never do anything to harm, endanger or damage the outwards reputation of the Black family . I swear to behave appropriately, have my manners, and keep my wits about me..."._ **

He couldn't imagine how Regulus would have looked at him then. He'd sworn.....that he wouldn't do exactly what he was doing. He would have been completely and utterly dissapointed in him. He could have even....hated him for it. And, when Sirius looked down Severus' courage rose. So he took a chance. "- _Flipendo_ -".

Yet Black was still inept at dueling and had fast reactions too. "- _RICTU_ -".

"-NO!-", he snapped his head to the sound of Narcissa's voice, being shot backwards by Snapes spell and into the body of a tree that groaned upon impact, "-What are you doing!?-". Bilius, James and Lucius appeared around them, with Malfoy un-dooing the curse on Snape as James helped Sirius, being pushed away when he attempted to aid him stand to his feet. And Snape glared at Black, flipping his hair out of the way as Malfoy dragged the boy up from the ground, giving him quite the sneering look.

"-That greaseball hexed my broom Cissy!- I was teaching him not to mess with a Black!-", stated Sirius, pointing childishly.

Snape glanced up to Malfoy sincerily, still having tears in his eyes, "-He hexed me first !- in Slughorns classroom-".

"-I MADE YOU SING!- THATS ENTIRELY DIFFERENT FROM TRYING TO HURT-".

"-SIRIUS!-", Black clamped his mouth shut at Narcissa's cry, "-What would your mother say to you acting like this?-". She stared at him in disbelief.

"-.....She's already said something.....- ", he spoke truthfully, frowning.

-And Narcissa's jaw quivered- yet Black couldn't quite tell if it was in anger or sadness. "-Please- FOR THE LOVE OF SALAZAAR SIRIUS!- You have been at this school for a week!- and if McGonagall or Dumbledore were to well find out that you just chased another student into the FORBIDDEN Forest to ruddy hex them you would be getting sent straight home with a snapped wand and a burn mark where your face had been just like Andy!-". She watched as his features settled, suddenly feeling quite terrible for compairing the two. So she lowered her voice to save him the shame. "-....is this some kind of little rebellion because you didn't get into Slytherin?-".

"-No!-", he snapped.

"-THEN WHAT ?- SIRIUS- TELL ME!?-", she stared into his eyes, "- why have you done this?....You can't have caused this trouble over a Merlin forsaken broom hexing!- Can you not even see how stupid this is. You should be trying to prove to Walburga that even though you have been placed in Gryffindoor that you can still do this family proud....not dissapoint her and everyone else even further....- ". She waited for him to answer, but only received silence. Guilty, thoughtful silence. "-You don't even have the decency to apologise for this mess you have cau-".

"-I'm sorry ,okay....-", he finally spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. And Snape wrinkled his nose at the boy. "-I. am. sorry-".

"-Sorry for only this?-", Weasley pressed.

"-.....No....For upsetting you Narcissa....-", he looked to Billius, hating apologising. Blacks never apologised. Well at least his mother never did. "-and for making your job as a prefect this week hard work-". And to that the ginger boy smirked, despite the prior mayhem Sirius had caused. 

"-Thank you Sirius- your apology is accepted for now-", he stated, "-James, take him to Dorcas-".

"-B-But aren't we going to go to McGonagall-", Potter wondered, assuming that they were due to get into some serious trouble .

Billius glanced to Malfoy. "-I don't see any need to bother her on a Saturday morning- we Prefects can deal with this- just go-".

Both boys nodded ( with Sirius shamefully hanging his head) , turning back towards the castle- and luckily Snape and Sirius hadn't run too far into the forest , so some of the stonework was still visible to guide their way. Yet as soon as the pair of them were out of view, Weasley frowned at Lucius and Narcissa. "-You know....this entire week of me meeting Sirius ....I've only thought one thing every time that kids caused me trouble...-". He sighed. "-...'What would Andromeda do?'-".

Narcissa lunged towards him. "-How dare you speak of her!-".

"-Now ,now Cissy-", calmed Lucius, holding Snape by the shoulder of his jacket, "-I suggest you return to your house, Mr Weasley, before we end up the ones in an altercation rather than the children. And I doubt that you want to entertain the tip of my wand at this early hour-".

"-I _will_ return to my house actually-", replied Billius as stiffly as Lucius had , "- If we can agree- for the sake of both of our first years and our reputations as prefects, that _this_ did not happen-". He looked directly to Narcissa. "-I am sure someone such as yourself could appreciate that-". She narrowed her eyes at him .

Yet Malfoy smiled falsley. "-Of course- now run along- ".

"-Gladly-", hissed Billius, making his way swiftly from their cold presence

And as he went, Lucius leaned down down to Snapes ear. "-I am surprised the child of a filthy Blood traitor managed to best a Black-". 

Severus wriggled from his grasp, glaring at the Prefect before storming back in the direction of the castle, furiously wiping at his eyes with his sleeves.


	17. Calm

"-What happened!?-", wondered Frank, as Dorcas helped the crying Peter in through the portrait hole, followed by James, Sirius, and then Billius, who made sure to close it behind them, sighing. Mary and Alice then came over to Peter, bringing him over to sit down on the sofa in front of the empty hearth, whilst Lily clambered out of her seat, rushing over to cut of Sirius' path so that he looked down at her.

"-Did you hurt Sev?!-", she worried to Sirius' glare.

"-Dont worry- the greasball is fine-", he groaned, "-Well as fine as he can be-". And Evans breathed a deep sigh of releif.

"-Thanks to Narcissa - that is-", finished Billius, rubbing his temples. He was glad that it was over, and that they'd managed to 'put out the flames before the fire grew too great', "-Of all the things you could have done Sirius. And you too James- don't think you're off the hook because you got yourself Hexed-". Potter slumped his shoulders, thumping over to a chair by the window.

"-You got yourself hexed?-", teased Marlene, "-Oh _poor_ baby-".

"-Snape made Snot pour out of m-my nose!-", whailed Peter, and the girls each side of him moved back a little bit, still trying to comfort him from afar.

"-Yes- And I had to clean it up-", shuddered Dorcas, holding her wand by the end so that it swayed back and forth, "-Gotta hand it to you Peter, I got hit with that particular spell in first year myself and I was flat out in five minuets-". She gave him a reassuring look. "-You're stronger than I was-". Marlene mimicked Dorcas, looking away quickly as she turned her gaze to her.

"-And I believe-", announced Billius, "-That our new first years should think, very hard, before they go and try and hex someone again- because it will likely not end as well as it had this time. We're lucky Mug-foy was in the agreeable mood or I would have probably ended up dueling him-". Dorcas rolled her eyes at him, begining to search around for some tissue to wipe her wand with.

"-Sirius nearly got Snape a few times-", announced Potter, "-some of the hexes he was saying i've never heard of-".

"-And thats a good thing?-", argued Lily, glaring at him - to which James shrugged.

"-My mother taught me them-", Sirius explained , "-And a couple were curses-".

"-Curses!-", Evans looked like she was going to keel over and die. She was sure that her Sev must have been completely terrified by someone as horrible as Sirius chasing after him, shouting curses when he was just trying to go on about his day.

"-Recon' you could teach me some hexes or curses Black-", Marlene pointed with a long thumb nail to the back of Franks head, "- I have someone to use for target practice-".

"-I swear to god if you are pointing at me Mckinnon-", Frank frowned, turning to glare to the girl who was commically taller than he was.

"-Me- _never_ -", she lied, winking. And Sirius and James laughed, before Black realised something.

"-Wait- How did you find out where we were going?-", asked Black.

"-Lupin -", informed Mary without hesitance, "-He told us when he was still half asleep-". Sirius wrinkled his nose bedgrudgingly.

"-And where is he now?-", wondered Billius, "-I said not to let anyone leave- especially not to run after their friends-".

"-He isn't our friend-", announced Black quickly .

"-Thats not very nice-", argued Alice, folding her arms on the back of the sofa, "-have you even tried talking to him?-".

"-Yep-", Potter responded, "-But that hasn't gone well-".

"-How comes?-", wondered Frank.

"-Because Sirius is too agressive, and he's too-", James melted back into his seat, pulling a bored looking expression, "-meh-".

"-He said i'm _racist_ -", stated Black, hopping over the back of the sofa to land beside Alice.

"-Well you are a Black-", Fortescue returned , giving him a strange sort of look that he couldn't quite find the words in his head to describe. It was sort of knowing, yet uncertain at the same time.

"-People- Lupin- Where has he gone?-", recoiled Billius before the conversation ran away from its main point.

"-Don't sweat it Weasley-", stated Marlene, grabbing a tuft of Franks coarse hair, to which he yelped, "-McGonagall came to get him-".

"-You should ask before grabbing someones hair Lee-", she took to bits from the front, begining to plait it.

"-You mean the 'old cow' took him, according to Sirius-", aided Mary.

Sirius whacked his head back into the sofa. "-I really didn't know she was there!-", he announced, "-I shouldn't have just seen a Tabby cat and assumed- _oh Hi_ \- theres Professor McGonagal! Like I don't see a pile of 'mush' or whatever its called and go, 'Oh Hi Professor Slughorn'-". The Gryffindoors laughed, excluding Lily, who, as they were all occupied, clambered upstairs to get dressed.

******

"-Narcissa-". Lucius sat on the end of his bed in the dorm room as candles flickered all about them, illuminating the deep green walls and drapery, which was accompanied by a miriage of fine decor that he had brought to the place himself. "-Stop it-". And he watched as she paced back and forth, wringing her hands in worry with a deeply settled brow. "-You are stressing far too much-". 

"-And you-", she pointed with her ringed finger, "-Are stressing far too little-". Lucius cocked a brow at her. "-Sirius is already in enough trouble as it is- and if his mother were to find out about what happened today...well...she wouldn't just give him a lecture or a slap on the wrist-". 

Malfoy frowned. "-You are talking about the conversation at the meal-". 

"-The arguement you mean-", she returned snappily, "-If only mother could have kept her mouth shut....then Walburga would have never swore to keep Sirius 'in his place'....and then I wouldn't have to concern about what that entailed -". She bit her lip harshly. "-He's such a fool-". 

"-You shouldn't worry so much about that boy-", scoffed Lucius, standing, "-What good has he ever done you?-". 

"-It doesn't matter about what 'good' he has done-", she spoke quickly, "-He's my little cousin- and therefore I should try to do all I can to protect him- and not to mention the fact that he is the heir of the family of which I still share a last name until Merlin knows when- I mean, it took you long enough to propose- ". 

Malfoy narrowed his eyes, slightly insulted by her last comment. "-But that isn't the real reason....is it?-". And Narcissa paused, looking to him. "-Narcissa....". 

"-Don't look at me like that-", she glared as he came nearer, seizing the girl by the shoulders. 

"-Andromeda is gone-",continued Lucius, watching his fiance's expression settle, "-Whatever promises she made you keep should fade along with her.....-".

"-I made no promises-", she argued, not being beleived it in the slightest. 

"-My love....you cannot lie to me-", he replied stiffly, "-And I will not allow Sirius' misbehaviour to trouble you so-". 

She grabbed his wrist tightly. "-Then you have to make sure that Walburga does not find out what happened today-". Yet his reaction gave her no comfort. 

"-Who knows who saw-", continued Lucius, "-That is not something I can help....". 

"-Then...-", Narcissa sighed, "-....You....please don't tell Walburga yourself......I know you despise of Sirius...and-". 

"-Tell Walburga?....I wouldn't dream of it-", replied the man honestly, bringing Narcissa to a final silence, "-That woman irks me like a bad rash- plus I doubt she would believe anything that I had to say....she thinks i'm a fool-". He motioned his arm forwards, wrapping her in a kind of embrace. "-Just you must stop worrying for him...-". She nodded into his jacket. "-Now- run along-", he smiled to her, "-I'm sure the entire school is missing the face of Narcissa Black-".

"-Thank you-", she replied breathily, making her leave . Yet she turned back as she reached the door, blowing the man a kiss that he dramatically caught - and as she left, Lucius smirked , stepping over to his dark desk in the corner to bring out a piece of paper and a quill, which he dipped in his pot of ink, lowering it onto the pale surface. 

_**Dearest Druella.....** _


	18. Proper Fizzy

The following Monday, the first years were introduced to the wonderful world of the Charms class, with Filius Flitwick, who was a very small man with dark hair and glasses, who stood up on a podium in front of the class, which was a mixture of Gryffindoor and Hufflepuff, with the Hufflepuffs on one side of the room, and the Gryffindoors on the other. And James , Sirius and Peter and were bunched up together on the seats to the furthest right corner , making jokes about the Professors beard as he held up the charms book, with Black placing his wand above his top lip allowing it to balance there. "-They're such Idiots-", stated Lily, who sat beside Remus. And he raised his brows, looking up from his book to them.

"-Be thankful you don't have to share a room with them-", he responded, pointing to James with the feather of his quill, "-you should hear him snoring-".

"-I can imagine-", she looked to Alice and Mary, who laughed together too, drawing little stick figures in their books, "-Mary and Alice don't stop talking...".

"-And they don't include you?-", Remus cocked his brow.

"-No- I think they sort of forget I'm there-", she replied honestly, "-Though I don't blame them-".

"-Well have you tried talking to them?-", asked Lupin, jotting down a couple of notes as Flitwick used his wand to drag some chalk across a board at the front of the class.

"-Yes...but all they talk about is Witch stuff....Like music and things-", she smiled sadly, "-I don't know much about any of it-".

"-Don't worry- I'm behind on that too-", affirmed Remus.

"-Really?-". Lily was genuinely surprised. "-But you're always reading-".

"-Potions books and transfiguration texts don't tell you what the 'hottest pop group of the centuary' is in 'Witch Weekly-", he tapped his quill in a jar of ink, "-trust me- I may as well be Muggleborn like you when it comes to that-".

Lily furrowed her brows. "-What about your dad- doesn't he know about those things?-".

"-Dad works a lot-", stated Remus, "-he doesn't have much time for talking about Wizarding pop culture. Unless its a trivia night at the Ministry-".

"-Then your mum-", Evans brushed flat some of the pleats of her skirt, "-surely she must know something-".

"-My mums....dead-", Remus stated , keeping his focus to the front of the class.

"-Oh-", Lily replied, looking away akwardly, "-Sorry...".

"-No-its fine-", assured Lupin, giving her a little smile, "-I don't mind talking about her actually- its nice-".

"-Then....-", Lily sat up straight, "-You can tell me all about her-".

Remus seemed surprised. "-You really want me to?-".

"-Of course-", Evans smiled, "-you can tell me all you like-".

"-Well-", Lupin placed down his quill, "-She loved Cadburys chocolate-".

"-Ah thats propper norris that is-", stated Lily, to which Remus snorted, "-What?-".

"-Why did your accent get so strong?-", he laughed.

"-Whats wrong with it?-", Lily sat towards him, "-should i say its 'proper Fizzy'-".

"-It sounds really weird-", responded Remus, quite entertained, "-Its like me saying : Aye lass yer' crack handed-". And Lily giggled.

"-Now that sounds silly-".

********

After Flitwicks lesson, James , Sirius and Peter decided ( well James and Sirius decided) that they should have a look around the castle and try and get the layout after having nearly gotten lost that morning on the way to class. And they first decided to try and find their way to the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, which in fact was their lesson after lunch, but they managed to get themselves lost, ending up somewhere else entirely. And it took them almost the entirety of Lunch to just find themselves back at the bottom of the moving stairs. "-This place needs arrows on the wall-", Sirius walked up to an empty bit of stone work, waving his palms over it, "- _If you go this way you will get lost_ -". James sniggered, looking to the entrance of the Great hall where he could see the last of Gryffindoor finishing up their lunch before lesson, watching as Lily and Remus stepped out from the hall, spotting him too. And Evans snapped her head away, continuing to walk past.

"-Oi - Evans!-", called James, "-Don't be a stranger-". She made her way towards the steps, tailed by Remus. "-Would you tell us where the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom is?-".

"-Find it yourself- Potter-", she stated.

"-Hey- Why are you being mean to me?-".

"-Because we hexed her _boyfriend_ \- thats why-", stated Sirius, leaning his shoulder to the wall, "-You might want to stay away from her Lupin- I heard Snapes greasy head is contagious- and she's been all over him-". James laughed, with Peter more so chuckling, being, honestly, a little weary of Snape. Especially after he made him spout half his weight in booger from his nose.

"-Oh do you have to be so mean , Black?-", complained Lily, flapping her arms in frustration.

"- _Oh_ \- so he is your boyfriend-", he sneered, "-You certainly have a type, Muggleborn-".

"- _Lily_ -", corrected Remus defensively, "-Stop calling her Muggleborn , Black-".

"-Thanks-", she smiled to him.

"-Oh whatever-", sighed Sirius.

"-R-Remus-", spoke Peter timidly, "-C-Can you please tell us where the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom is?- I don't want to be late-".

"Of course Peter- You can walk with us if you want-", he returned, to which James and Sirius were at a loss for words.

"-So you'll help him-" , Sirius waved open his arm as Pettigrew went to walk past, nearly hitting the boy in the face, "-But not us-".

"-Yep-", replied Remus, "-He's not racist , nor rude- neither did he appear to want any part in hexing Snape-".

"-I'm not rude or racist !-", whined James.

"-Maybe not- But you certainly don't stop Sirius from being so- except for that two minuet time span in the dorm where you tried to correct him... but haven't done so since-".

"-I-I'm not the controller of Sirius's mouth-", squeaked James, watching Peter hurry to Remus' side.

"-Even still, he's your friend- is he not?-". And they turned away, starting up the stairs.

"-Your a traitor Peter!-", called Sirius playfully, shaking his head, "-Did you see how quickly he swapped sides when it benefitted him-".

"-Yep-", responded James, bringing both of them into a watchful silence, "....we should follow them....shouldn't we?-".

"-Probably-", agreed Sirius, "-Race you - first one who reaches Peter wins-".

"-Oh-your on Black-", returned James, begining to speed off up the steps without warning.


	19. Grimsby

The Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, or 'DADA' Classroom as it was spelled on the plaque outside the old heavy door, was a large space, with long windows that illimated dusty object covered shelves and a great dragon skellington that hung overhead, of which James and Sirius had been fixated on since they had made it to the classroom, with a rather pestered looking Lily , who stomped her way to the front of the room where Mary and Alice had already been sitting, joined by a rather jolly looking woman, with wide, kind eyes, and a happy, hopeful smile, who bounced on the spot as though a giddy child . And they found, upon arriving , that in this particular class of theres they would be sharing it with Ravenclaw, who sat at the desks to the left the classroom , two students to each desk, watching the Gryffindoors enter with expectant eyes, especially from those who found themselves captured by Sirius Black, who sat down beside James and in front of the now lonely looking Peter to the right of the classroom, glancing across the space to a group of girls who stared. "-What?-", he wrinkled his brows at them, to which a wispy haired girl with large, wonderfilled blue eyes sat up straight, glaring back at him.

"-We're all jus' wondering how a Black is in Gryffindoor- thats what-", she stated with an Irish twang. And Sirius immediately narrowed his eyes at her and her blunt manner of speaking, to which she showed no hesitance or remoarse. Actually she half seemed as though she hadn't said anything at all, instead just looking back to the front of the classroom.

"-Oi-", the boy beside her hissed with a chuckle , then smiling past the girl to the clearly annoyed Black, "-Sorry about her- she's very blunt-". Lily turned around to the sound of the boys voice. "-I'm Caleb Grimsby-". He had waves of blonde hair and pale skin, with a strong nose and slim blue eyes that managed to be the focus of his face. "-Nice to meet you -".

"- _Grimsby_?-", Sirius furrowed his brows. He'd never heard of the surname Grimsby before. He must have been a Muggle born or Half-blood at the least. That meant there were possibly two Muggleborns in the first year. Oh he could imagine his mother laughing over a cup of tea or glass of wine about the fact that there were more than one. But then again, there was a high probability that she was laughing over a glass of wine at that current time about the fact that her son had gotten into Gryffindoor. Or , adversley, staring at a smashed glass of wine on the ground, filled with utter and absolute rage.

"-And I'm Pandora Grimsby-", stated the girl, not looking back once.

"-James Potter-", smiled Potter, deciding to be the first one to introduce himself out of the Gryffindoors, "-And this is Peter Pettigrew - and I'm guessing that you already know Sirius Black-". The pair nodded. There wasn't anybody at Hogwarts who didn't know Sirius Black.

"-And I'm Lily-", beamed Evans, most directly to Caleb, who bobbed his head in acknowledgement, "-And this is Remus Lupin-". He gave him a rather insencere smile. "-Alice Fortescue-". She waved quickly with a kind twinkle. "-And Mary McDonald-". Marys dimples pressed even deeper into her face as she beamed, looking a little bit like a pretty hampster.

"-Nice to meet you-", returned Caleb as the Professor tapped her wand against the blackboard, "-Oh- time to learn-".

"-Hello class-", she greeted, searching all of their little fresh faces. She'd only had the pleasure to experience the delights of students who were well into their time at Hogwarts and...well into their own mischeif too. It was quite a pleasure to see faces as fresh as theirs. "-I am Maryannne Marquis and I will be your Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for this school year-". She placed her free hand on the other end of her wand, holding it like a scroll.

"-This year?-", wondered Lily.

"-Yeah-", responded James, having overheard her, "- Theres a new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher every year-". She slightly turned towards him on her chair with a creak. "-Dad says that it's always been like that-".

"- _Mother_ says that the positions cursed-", added Sirius, "-You either leave, die or loose your job - nobody ever stays on for longer than a year-".

"- _Die_ -", Evans frowned, "-How could you die?-".

"-Well _nobody_ lives forever-", he then leaned forwards, "-You die of your own occord- or your _Murdered_ -". She wrinkled her nose at him.

"-I don't know how you can say that word just as that-".

"-Because it's just a word-", scoffed Black, "-And I am not six-".

"-Well you certainly act like it-", muttered Remus beneath his breath as Professor Marquis began to pace across the classroom from left to right.,

"-Now, this lesson, we will be focusing on your knowledge of the Dark Arts, aiding to develop it. We will be covering topics spanning from Ghouls and Goblins- to curses, afflictions, dark hexes and all the like. Now let me re-iterate, anything you learn within this classroom is to stay in this classroom and within the halls of Hogwarts. I don't want any of my First years running off into the Forbidden forest looking for a wild Gytrash or Unicorn-". She was a very animated woman, and had a new motion for each word she exlaimed like a proclamtions, speaking with a voice that rose and fell in tone frequently.

"-Lupin should know a lot about the Dark Arts-", spoke out Sirius, glaring at the back of his head, "-His dad made the 'Werewolf Restriction act'. I'm sure he'll be brilliant in this class. He may even take your job Professor-". Some of the Ravenclaws gave out little , weary, laughs.

"-Despite your praise being ever informative -That was unncessary Mr Black-", she returned as he immediately sniggered to James, finding her gaze upon the tired looking Remus who already had taken to reading through his textbook, "-Though you may be correct- as out of everyone in this room , Mr Lupin has been the only one to take the innciative to open his book. Five points to Gryffindoor house for Mr Lupin-". She turned to her board, allowing Remus to smile back to the boys.

"- _Thank you_ Sirius-", he spoke sarcastically , to which Lily giggled, "-I am glad that you are taking on some house pride by _helping_ your fellow classmates. Are you finally ready to admit that you're one of us- ". Sirius growled, snatching his book up from the table.

"-Anyone can pick up a book-", he grumbled.

"-Yet she wouldn't have noticed me if it wasn't for you-".

"-Oh dear-", teased Alice playfully, "-Don't annoy him Remus- he might Hex you-". Peter laughed a little too loudly, nearly falling off of his chair when trying to hide it from Sirius.

"-I would have hexed Snape even worse if it wasn't for him-", argued Sirius, as though him having had the chance to 'hex Snape worse ' would have meant anything good.

"-Your welcome-", returned Lupin, to which Black sat forwards on his chair.

"-ugggh- Why are you like this?-".

"-Like what-", he looked at himself , "-Dressed in robes?- or a half-blood. You need to be _specific_ , Sirius Black-". His calm atitude infuriated Sirius even further. "-Just read your book-".

"-Don't tell me what to do _Scarface_ -". Remus's jaw visibly locked. "-Ah- See ,now I've annoyed you. So you aren't just dense -".

Lily glared at him. "-Stop being mean Siri-".

"-No. Its fine Lily-", paused Remus, shaking his head at Black. He could handle him on his own. "-I am very well aware that I have scars -And insult them all you want. Whatever comes out of your mouth does not effect me - it effects you....People judge you on the choices that _you_ make- and my choice right now is to ignore you-". And with that he spun around to face the front of the class again, more slowly followed by the impressed Lily. Remus was really mature. That much had become evident in the time that she had known him.

********

"-HE'S A NIGHTMARE- honestly!-", flapped Sirius as him , James and Peter hurried their way down the steps from the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, "-He refuses to help us get to class. He called me a 'racist' , _again -_ and he squeaked to Weasley that we were going to Hex Snape! Hes a snake, smug - and , worst of all, he's so- so-".

"-P-Passive aggressive-", offered Peter.

"-Yes- Exactly-", groaned Sirius, "-I hate him-".

"-Hate who now?-". Black turned around to meet Severus ,who stood by the bottom of the steps with his greasy hair illuminated by the sunset and large nose uncomfortablly close to Black face as students passed them by.

"-Sev!-", Lily hopped past James and Sirius, shooting them a glare as she went, "-Ready to go for a walk-". She held her books to her chest.

"-Oh- yeah-", he smiled, turning around with Lily to begin marching down the hallway. And Sirius, quickly forgetting his anger towards Remus, folded his arms, then coming to peer at the gap between them.

"-What are you thinking Sirius?-", wondered James with a smirk.

"-I don't know how you can be in the same class as him-", stated Snape to Lily, taking some of her books, "-Whats with all of these books?-".

"-Oh- some of them are Remus'-", she responded, "-He needed to run off somewhere so I'm taking them back to the common room for him-". Severus nodded slowly, not much liking the fact that Lily was carrying around some other boys books. Especially not a Gryffindoor who shared a room with Sirius Black and James Potter. "-Maybe you should talk to him Sev- he's actually really nice , and he doesn't like James and Sirius either. But he likes Peter-".

"-Peter?-", he furrowed his brows.

"-The one you hexed ,Sev-", explained Lily, "-You made booger pour of of his nose-".

"-Oh-". He could see that she seemed a little dissapointed in him. "-But what was I supposed to do Lily-", Snape complained, "-They were waiting at the end of the hall for me, and I couldn't have very well let Sirius Black get the better of me- Hexing me in the middle of the school-".

"-But you could have tried talking to him-", she breathed, hating how all of the boys in her year, except for Remus it seemed, acted before they thought about it. They were reckless and would have very well been at risk of getting themselves seriously hurt. She'd been so worried the entire time when Marlene had been keeping them in the common room, placing Frank by the door to make sure that she didn't get out. "-Oh Sev- not everything can be solved by hexing eachother. And If Sirius would have hexed you at first then he could have gotten in trouble alone and you would have been fine and not at risk of getting told off for running into the FORBIDDEN forest-". Severus seemed a little put off by Lily's statement, and had just been about to explain why, when they were shoved apart from the centre, throwing their books to the ground as James and Sirius dove through the centre of them, speeding off down the cooridor. And James snapped his head around to Lily whilst running, giving her a cheeky smile as Peter snuck around them as not to be seen, worried that Snape might of hexed him again.

"-OH THOSE HORRIBLE BOYS!-", Lily roared, watching the pair of them go as Snape reached down, grabing a few books that he handed back to Lily, "-Thanks Sev. Honestly I don't know what their problem with me is ! Sirius calls me 'the Muggleborn'-". Severus' blood boiled a little at the memory of what he had almost called her in the woods. "-And James just follows him along-".

"-They're Purebloods Lily-", hissed Snape, "-all they do is strutt about, waving their entitlement ,where as people like us, Muggle-borns and half-bloods, have to work to be seen as equal to them-".

"-Thats so stupid-", Lily shook her head, "-Muggle-borns - half-bloods-Muggles!- what does it matter?- We're all the same-".

"-Muggles are not the same-", returned Snape, to which Lily frowned, giving him quite the disbeleiving look.

"-Then if you think that way you must be just as bad as a Pureblood -", she reached down to gather up the rest of her books, begining to make her way down the hallway.

"-Where are you going?-", immediately called Severus, attempting to catch up with her, "-Lily, I didn't know that it would upset you?- i'm sorry-".

"-Sev- I am not upset-", she explained, "-I just need to get these books back for Remus-". Snape stopped chasing after her, watching as she grew further and further away. "-I'll see you tommorow-okay -".

"-R-Right-", he near mumbled.


	20. Nice curtains

Tuesday was the day in which the first years had history of magic with Professor Cuthertbinns, who, to both Lily and Peters surprise, was not the _lively_ sort. 'Lively' in the sense that he was dead - so dead in fact, that he still thought that he was alive . And he'd spent most of the lesson muttering the same things over and over again whilst directing the students to the chalk board in which a paragraph about the Hogwarts founders was . And Sirius, who hadn't sleept nearly enough the night before hand slowly started to nod off, bobing backwards and forwards over the table- to which James placed a hand on his shoulder that caused all of his limbs to shoot out, propelling a pot of ink across the room so that it splattered all over Lily and Remus- to which Alice and Mary couldn't help but laugh at the sight of them dripping with ink. And that evening at dinner , a rather irritated Lily and pestered Remus sat as far away on the table from their classmates as possible, dangling right on the edge, to which Billius sighed at the sight of Sirius blinking quickly to keep himself awake. "-I'm sure its nothing Bill-", assured Dorcas, smiling to him, "-They're probably just having some late nights full of fun-". Yet despite her assurances, the next day Sirius was worse, fumbling the pot which Professor Sprout had given him to hold in their first Herbology lesson, which Alice was quick to catch, chuickling at him.

"-Be careful Sirius-", she giggled, "-Plants are living creatures too you know-". And Sprout gave the girl a rather strange smile, seeing Herbology potential in her yet.

A similar thing happened in Transfiguration the next day too , when Professor McGonagall had all given them match boxes , taking about how they could very easily transfigure a match into a needle. "-All it takes is a simple wand motion, intention and the correct words-", the woman instructed, taking out her own match, "-Now if you all could please remove a match from the box. And I beg of you do not light them- I do not want to have another repeat of the Transfiguration classroom fire of nineteen-sixty six-". She shuddered at the memory as Black carefully reached for the box, taking it by the wrong end, which caused all of the matches to spill out across the classroom, rolling mostly out of sight. "-Mr Black-", Minerva sighed as the rest of the class laughed, "-Did you neglect to notce that one side of the box has a gread big red arrow for 'up'. I hardly think that it is difficult to miss-". Remus shook his head at Sirius, who quickly jumped from his seat, scrambling to salvage any he could see as James laughed. And after collecting them all up he poured them back onto the desk, not realising that one of them facing towards the rough fabric of his robes, which set his sleeve alight.

"-Sirius is on fire!-", pointed Mary , as Peter squealed in fear, watching as he threw off his robes so that him and James could stomp on them until the blaze went out. And McGonagall rubbed her temples.

"-Five points deducted from Gryffindoor for dangerous behaviour Mr Black-". Sirius picked up his robes , looking to the fresh hole that was now burned into the sleeve.

"-Fuck-".

"-TEN POINTS- for profanity-", added Professor McGonagall, shaking her head at him, "-And you have permission to return to Gryffindoor tower to get changed. But seeing as you are not currently aware enough to see a great red arrow, I shall have somebody accompany you, Mr Black-". James immediately turned. "-Not so fast Potter. I know better than to send two immature first years off together. Instead, _Mr Lupin_ , will you please escort Mr Black back to Gryffindoor tower. You have full permission to come to me after class for any content you miss-".

Remus sighed. "-Of course Professor-".

"-Why him!?-", complained Sirius, "-Anyone but him Professor- i'd rather take Peter-". Peter, who still looked a little traumatised, could not see how he was a worse option than Sirius going with Remus.

"-Or you can take a detention instead if you'd like-". Black clamped his mouth shut as Remus slipped his book beneath his arm, pushing up from his seat. "-I thought so. Now go, quickly-".

******

"-You know you could have refused-", argued Sirius, stomping into the dorm room and towards the still opened chest at the end of his bed.

"-What?-", Remus remained in the doorway, seeing no reason for him to go in too, "-And miss you throwing a tantrum over ripped fabric-". He took his book from beneath his arm, opening it up. "-I'd rather not-". Sirius wrinkled his nose at him, searching through his trunk.

"-No-", he began to search more frantically, "-NO-No-No- No- Those laundry elfs!- they took my other robes-". He snapped around to Lupin as he chuckled.

"-Well-", Remus peered at him over the top of his page, "-That's your fault for wearing new robes every day. Theres no reason for it. A new shirt, yes, but robes are like jackets. You wouldn't wear a new jacket every day, would you?-". Sirius blinked at him. "-Of course you do- I shouldn't have asked-".

"-No matter about that-", he slammed the lid of his trunk shut, "-What am I supposed to do? I cannot wear robes with a hole in them all day-".

"-And what do you want me to do?-", Remus lowered the book, "-I could lend you my spare robes-".

Sirius looked him up and down. "-No way- that is not happening-".

"-Why?....". Remus then smirked. "- _oHHH_ -".

"- _Oh_ what?-", snarked Sirius, looking away from him.

"- Your too short-".

"-I. Am . Not-", he stomped towards Remus, proving his point even further, "-I am a perfectly normal height. You are just far too tall-". Remus then proceeded to hold up his book into the air.

"-If you aren't too short, grab the book-".

"-I beg your pardon-", he growled.

"-I said- Grab.the.book-", returned Remus, "-If your not 'far too small'-".

"-I-I can grab it-", he looked up as the pages flapped over his head, "-I am Sirius Black-".

"-Well ,go on then, _Sirius Black_ -", Lupin shook the book above him, "-Get it-". And he watched as Sirius slolwy reached his arm up, before swatting it back down to his chest.

"-Whats the point in getting it anyway?-", he grumbled, "-I don't have to prove i'm a normal height-".

Remus raised a brow. "-Alright then-". He lowered his book, making his way across the room towards his trunk as Sirius mumbled to himself. And as he was about to open it, when he got an idea.

*****

"-NICE CURTAINS BLACK!-", heckled Marlene, standing up to get a good view of Sirius trudging Remus' oversized robes into the hall, struggling as the front continued to get caught underneath his feet so that he almost threw himself onto the ground three times. And he sat down with James, glaring at Lupin who glanced to him from his book.

"-You really cannot be this much bigger than me-", the length of the robes would have been almost the right size, if not for the copius amounts of fabric in which the very thin Sirius drowned, "-You purposely streatched it or something-".

"-Nope-", Remus shook his head slowly, "-Why on earth would I do that?-". And Lily sniggered , whispering to Alice and Mary, who then relayed the message to Frank, which caused a great big smirk to crawl across his face. And Sirius stared at Lupin wide eyed as he placed down his book, stabbing a sausage onto his fork. "-You should try the sausages- you've got quite a lot of space to fill-". Billius , who'd quickly worked out what was going on, chuckled to Dorcas, who was honestly surprised by Lupin.

"-You tricked me!-", shrieked Sirius, tugging at the fabric.

"-Yep-", responded Remus plainly, biting the tip from the sausage.

"-T-then who's robes are these!-", Lupin immediately pointed with his knife to Peter, who shoveled his food into his mouth, slowly chewing as everyones eyes fell upon him.

"-What?-", he wondered thickly through his food.

Black shook with rage. "-You really are a Snake!- aren't you- A sly slithering snake-", he hissed, thumping his fist on the table, to which Remus tilted his head in consideration.

"-Not really a Snake- but sly....well maybe a little bit-", he responded, "-but think of the bright side. If somebody threw you off of the Astronomy tower right now you would just glide down-". James snorted, shooting his peas across the table.

"-I am going to kill you-", growled Sirius, turning red.

"-Please- do. I'm sure you'd love Azkaban-", he flicked the page of his book that now rested open on the table, "-Maybe they'll even put you in one of those cages at the bottom of the North sea you spoke about-". Black sank into his seat, glaring at him. "-Enjoy your meal ,' I am Sirius Black'-".

"-Oh he got you Sirius-", laughed James, "-he got you _good_ -".

"-Aren't you meant to be his friend-", replied Longbottom, still smirking.

"-Well, I have to praise a good prank- Nice one Lupin-". Sirius, in attempts to hide his face before someone saw him dressed like a bed sheet, flicked up the robes hood, which instead of coming to sit atop his head as it should have, flipped all the way over so that it trapped his entire head. And he fell backwards off of his seat, causing an erruption of laughter as all of the fabric pooled up to his head. "-Sirius, mate-". Black scrambled back to his feet, pointing furiously at Remus.

"-I-I-I-'ll get you for this!-", he hopped on the spot , "-Mark my words Remus Lupin- You will regret this day for the rest of your life!-".

"-Sure-", he sighed, "-Whatever you say-".


	21. Paper rats

The next day, after receiving back his own set of robes, Sirius set to cultivating something to get back at Remus for tricking him. Something good. "-It cant be a hex or a curse-", stated James as they made their way to lesson, "-We both know what happened last time. And I suppose you don't want a detention- or to be kicked out-". Sirius nodded in acknowledgement, stomping along the corridoor, despite the fact that he had been thinking along those lines. And so he took to staring at Remus that lesson when he was paying attention to the front of the class, looking for any clues as to what they could do to get him with . Sirius knew that it had to be something completely and utterly embarassing or terrfiying even . Something that would make him want to shrivell up in a corner and die in a ball of his own shame. And so that lunch time, he cleared his throat.

"-Excuse me- Evans-". Lily gave him a suprised look, lowering her sandwitch.

"-So I have a name now?-", she shook her head at his hopeful expression, "-Sirius- I know what your trying to do and I'm not helping you. Plus you'll fail with whatever you do because he's expecting it-". Yet, unknown to her, she'd just fueld the flames to Sirius' mischevious fire.

"-Wait....He's expecting it?-", Sirius smirked.

"-Yes. Especially after your _efforts_ to retaliate back against Sev-", she added- to which Sirius jumped up from his seat.

"-Sirius?-", James quickly scrambled after him, shoving his sandwhich into his gob, "-What are you thinking mate?-".

"-What's something unexpected?-", he spoke with a hushed voice as they made their way from the hall.

"-Um....Oooh- A scare-".

"-Yes- exactly-", stated Sirius, budging closer to James as Peter pottered up behind them.

"-But how will we know how to scare him-", stated James, brushing some crumbs from his robes, "-Its not like he'll tell us himself-".

"-I know....which is why we need ......-". Both boys then stopped walking, turning their attention to Peter. "-Pettigrew-".

"-H-Hi-", he smiled to hearing his name , feeling himself shrink a little under their gaze, "-what is it?- Is there food on my face-". They took him by an arm each, dragging him along with them .

"-Peter- what are you afraid of?-", asked James, "-I'll tell you if you tell me-".

"-W-Well-", he admitted as the boys came to trap him between them, "-T-theres a lot-".

****

Peter yelped as James and Sirius shoved him through the portrait hole , coming to hide on either side of entrance as he stumbled into the common room. And Remus, who had been sat in front of the fire, raised a brow at him. "-Let me guess- they've sent you in here-".

"-N-No-", he stuttered , very clearly lying. Peter was a very , very bad liar.

"-Well come on then -", he tapped the seat beside him, "-What did they ask you to do ?-".

"- _Nothing_ \- they just told me to come in here-". Sirius reached into his pocket , taking out a piece of paper.

"-What now?-", hissed James, "-Peter never said he was scared of paper-".

"-Just watch-", replied Sirius, sticking out his tongue as he folded the paper up, pressing down the corners and twisting bits on the end .

"-Thats nifty-", stated James, "-But...what is it?-"

"- I said watch-".

Remus brought his knees up to his chest, resting the book atop them. "-So, what are they planning ?-".

"-What?-", squeaked Pettigrew, sweating a little. So he began to search the room nervously with his eyes. "-Nothing- nothing at al- AHHHH!-". He suddenly scrambled onto Remus as the shape of a rat scurried across the ground, spinning around in circles until he was almost sat up on Remus' shoulder, before it ran back towards the portait hole and out as fast as it had came. And luckily it was speedy enough to not be able to tell that it were paper, or the effort would have been quiet pointless.

"-And thats why we close the door-", wheezed Remus as Peter toppled over the back of the sofa and onto the ground, "-Peter , are you okay?-". Lupin jumped up, coming around to help him to his feet. "-Its gone now-".

"-S-Sorry-", he took Lupins hand, "-I-I'm scared of Rats-".

"-They are rather horrible-", stated Remus, "-I don't really like them ,or spiders for that matter. Its all the legs and eyes-", he assured, to which Sirius and James grinned to eachother, quickly tip-toing away from the portait hole. So that night, Remus Lupin came back to the dormitory room , sitting down onto the bed with a great crunch. And the three other boys watched through the gap of the slightly open door as he stood back up, throwing off his bedcovers to reveal a swarm of baby spiders and a freshly opened sack. Yet to their dismay, he didn't shriek and run for the hills. Instead ,he carefully brushed the spiders off of his bed, pinching the sack between his fingers to remove it too.

"-H-How did he not get scared by that?!-", complained Sirius, "-He said he was scared of spiders-".

"-Actually, he said he didn't like them-", re-iterated Potter, "-he never said he was scared of them _specifically_ -".

"-Oh really Potter?-" , Sirius elbowed him, "-You could have said that earlier-".

"-U-Uh guys-", Peter breathed , pointing down whilst making a greatly horrified noise at the sight of the spiders beging to climb them- and the boys quickly began to swat at themselves, stumbling forwards and through the door, spilling out across the ground.

"-Spiders- really?-", Remus slipped his book beneath his arm, marching out of the room as the boys writhed in their own faliure, "-Please clean them up-". And he closed the door behind him, leaving them to deal with the swarm of baby arachnids. 


	22. Peeves

Even though Sirius' first plan failed, he was not ready to give up, and spent most of his time in lessons, other than nearly falling asleep or accidentally dripping far too much ink from his quill onto his book, watching Remus for any inkling of anything to aid his cause . And his next idea came after their Herbology lesson the following week, when Remus had jolted his hand away from a pot at the sight of a worm. And so that lunchtime he dragged James and Peter out onto the grounds, getting down on his hands and knees near a patch of grassless dirt, pointing his wand at it. "- _Aguamenti_ -". Peter then hid behind James as the soil began to squirm and quiver, before a rather large worm popped out from the ground, which he took up out of its home, stuffing it into his pocket. And at dinner, he reached in to grab the worm again, feeling nothing but fabric. "-Potter-".

"-What?-", James whispered, having been keeping an eye on Remus.

"-I lost the worm-", Sirius hissed, "-It isn't in my pocket any more. The thing must have wriggled-".

"-WORM!-", yelped Marlene, pointing frantically at the centre of the table, "-Theres a WORM on the table!-". Everyone proceeded to lift their plates up, wrinkling their nose at the creature as it wriggled. "-Ew -its revolting-".

"-Its just a worm-", chuckled Alice, "-It wont kill you-". She leaned over , tenderly placing her hand down on the table. "-Come on little one- you're far away from home-". Frank smiled at her as she raised it, holding it on her palm. "-You wanna' meet Marlene-".

"-No-No-no-", Fortescue stretched her arm, holding it infront of Mckinnons face, "-Please move it!- Now!-".

"-I'll take it outside Ali-", smiled Frank, opening out his hands.

"-Don't squish it-".

"-I'll be very careful-", he assured as she lowered her hands to his so that he cupped them for a moment, before she brought them apart so that the worm could fall through. And he blushed a little, before climbing up and out of his seat, with everyone seeming very releived that it was gone. Well, everyone except for Sirius that was. His plan to try and get Remus back had failed again, miserably. And so he began to wait, and watch again for another week, and another. Yet this time he didn't get anything to go on. And by the start of October, James began to convince him to give up.

"-Theres no point mate-", he stated as they strolled across the grounds, snuggling into their robes. With the start of October came a sudden drop in temperature, and all of the trees around Hogwarts were rapidly begining to loose their browned leaves, seeming very naked as winter approached. They turned past the green houses, coming to the entrance of the school as a third year Hufflepuff ran past them, screaming bloody murder with their hair all stood out on end. And Peter squeaked, half wanting to run with them, especially since the empty hall ahead of them seemed very dark and ever foreboding. Yet Sirius, who was far to busy thinking about more important things, did not pay the student no mind, continuing to march ahead. "-I wonder what he was running from?-".

"-Maybe he _found_ something he shouldn't have-", joked Sirius, "-Or maybe Snivellous might be around the corner - they could have mistaken him for a-".

"-MONSTER-", shrieked Peter at the sight of a great looming shadow, immediately attempting to run away - yet instead he dove head on into a wall, knocking himself to the ground with a loud thud.

"-Peter!-", worried James , rushing to help him to his feet as Sirius watched the source of the shadows spin around and around in circles as the large shape on the wall changed form with each of his movements, becoming all different types of creatures and objects . Yet he stopped after a moment of realising that he was no longer scaring the students - and to that his game was no longer fun.

"-The students'es is not scared of Peevsey-", it dove down towards Black, coming to bob infront of him- revealing that it bore black hair , was wickedly slanted and had watchful orange eyes. And he was dressed in outlandish clothes, which, to Sirius, looked very much like the sleepware that James and Peter wore.

"-No-Ive seen scarier-", responded Sirius, to which the ghost gasped.

"-Peeves can make himself very scary!- Pevesy scared away the Hufflepuff- did Mr Black and Mr Potter see?-". James helped Peter to his feet.

"-You know us?-", he wrinkled his brows.

"-Yes-Yes- Peevsey has been watching you ever since he saw you- with the Slytherin-", he flipped upside down, looking as though he were standing on the sky with his legs wrapped.

"-But how comes we didn't see you?-", asked Sirius, knowing he would have surely noticed a Ghost floating about.

"-Peevsey can turn invisible-look-", he wiggled his fingers that disspeared from view before the students eyes, beaming proudly.

"-Brilliant-", marvelled James, "-I wish I could turn invisible- Imagine-". Potter pulled his hood over his head.

"-Oh no!- Where has Potter gone-", Sirius dramatically slapped his cheeks as Peeves laughed.

"-Think of everything you could do if you were invisible-". Peeves flipped the right way up, liking the way the boy was thinking. Yet he noticed, in that moment, a shadow looming in the light that pooled into the hall that did not join the boys. It look round and portly- and the ghost came to think that it was the Bloody barron. Yet it moved away far too quickly. "-Like you could go anywhere in the castle- or run around after hours-". 

"-It would be-", chuckled Sirius, "- You'd never get caught for hexing anyone. You'd get away with everything ....And I'm sure you cause a lot of trouble Ghost-". Yet as he turned back around, he came to find that Peeves had completely dissapeared from sight most abruptly.

"-H-Has he gone-", whimpered Peter. 

"-I think so-", replied James, looking to Sirius who suddenly seemed to grin, "-What?-". 

"-I've just got an idea....of how to get back at Lupin-". He rubbed his hands together. "-Oh this is gonna' get him good- I'm sure of it-". 


	23. Nearly that time

"-What are you so happy about?-", Remus climbed into his bed, coming to sit with his back against the headboard as Sirius smiled at him, pulling his blanket up to his shoulders. And James shook his head with a small chuckle, shifting onto his side. The boys had been strangely silent ever since Remus had arrived, having quickly separated across the room to their own corners, as though they were all waiting to pounce on him - which was a notion that would not have been surprising in the slightest. And he made sure to peer beneath his bed cover for good measure.

"-No-", Sirius returned, to which Remus gave him quite the suspicious look, glancing about the room to ensure that there was no clear pranks or anything for waiting him when he was most vulnerable . He didn't trust the way that Sirius was looking at him, all anticipating and giddy whilst exchanging looks with James and the less than estatic Peter, who was reconsidering the whole thing. 

"-Fine-", Remus shook his head, shifting to come to be underneath his blanket, "-Good night-". And he waited for a while until he heard James' heavy snoring, coming to slolwy peer out of it, before reaching to the bedside table to open the draw. And he took out his potions book, opening it onto his lap to the page he had marked. It was an entire description of the properties of Pomipon poition, which rather tickled him. The idea of someone's head suddenly turning into that of a pumkin was rather humerous, and frankly was something he wouldn't mind trying on the unsuspecting nuisance....or Black. And he could only wonder in that moment what Sirius and James were planning to do next. He wouldn't have been surprirsed if the boy attempted to dress Peter up as some form of ghost and have him chase him about . Sadly for them however, Remus had little fear of ghosts or any mundane things that went bump in the night. Yet he did jump a little as the sudden sound of shifting across the room, lowering his book. "-Sirius Black- I don't have the energy for-". Remus frowned. Sirius was nowere to be seen, and his bed was suddenly entirely empty, leaving nothing but a rumpled blanket. "-What on earth?-", Lupin placed down his book. He was sure that if the boy had tried to leave he would have heard him going. Its not like Sirius was one for having a subtle presence. "-Hey James-", Remus turned, coming to find that Potter too was gone, and Pettigrew also, which was the most unsettling part of it all . And he'd just been about to get out of bed, when Sirius' blanket flew off of his bed, and James' from his, covering the low windows so that he were left in complete darkness. And the boy, who's heart now shook a little , scrambled to grab his wand. "- _L-Lumos_ -". The tip illuminated just barely , most likely due to the lack of conviction in his words as he spotted a piece of ink splattered paper, fluttering down onto his lap. 

Remus took it up into his free hand, scanning the words on it that were terribly scribbled. It read, 'The werewolf restriction act', with 'restriction' having been crossed out at least three times over for poor spelling.

"-Sirius Black and James Potter-", his voiced wavered, "-Stop it- It isn't funny!-". His breath hitched at the sound of the floorboards creaking. "-I swear to god- Stop now or I will go and get Billius!-". The creaking turned into tapping at the foot of his bed, like the sound a tree branch made when hitting a window.

**"-Pa?-", little Remus peered up from his childrens book, staring into the moonlit centre of his bedroom . He'd been reading 'Little red riding hood', which had been a gift from his mother who was quite sick at the time, and she'd made him promise that he'd learn to read all of the book so that , next time they met, he could read it to her. He'd actually be about to finish the final page-Yet he was sure that someone had come into his bedroom. There had always been one creaky floorboard that would groan like an angry cat when stepped on. It was often how he knew when to hide his chocolate bars beneath his pillow before his dad or mum would notice them. "-Pa?-".**

"-Sirius!- James!-", cried Remus, "-Come out now- i'm not joking!-". 

**Little Lupin looked around, seeing nothing out of order. His shelves were there, and his little toys too, all sprawled around the large toybox. Yet as he looked again, he did spot something odd. There was a tall shadow in the darkest corner of the room, looming silently. "-Pa'- what are you doing?-". He sat up straight. "-Hello?-".**

Remus grabbed a handful of his blanket, squeezing it tightly as a low, quiet growl like sound filled the air. "-Stop it!-". 

**The shadow shifted, blinking open to reveal a set of wild eyes and the cracking of bones that slowly began to grow nearer. "-You aren't my Pa!-".**

"-James !- S-Sirius!-", he pleaded, finding it hard to catch his breath as the growl grew louder, slapping his hands over his ears so that he could not hear them before wincing his eyes tightly shut, feeling his bed shift. Yet after a moment, he drew his hands away, hearing or feeling nothing at all. There was only silence. A long, lingering and terrifying silence that felt as though it turned his stomach. He hated it. Everything had fallen so still. And so he lowered his arms, placing his hands on his bed beside him. Neglecting to notice the familliar sweet smell that seeped its way into his nose. "-Siri-". 

"-BOO!!-". 

Remus screamed a blood curdling kind of scream, whacking his arm back behind him before scrambling out of bed, flying to the door. And Sirius fell onto Lupin's blankets , grabbing his nose as James and Peter appeared from beneath their beds as Potter laughed. "-My nose- My nose- It's definately broken-", cried Sirus, to which James laughed even more. Well, that was until a great thud shook the entirety of Gryffindoor tower. And the three of them looked to eachother. 

"-Uh-oh-". 

Peter quickly dove back into bed, coming to hide beneath the covers.

***********

"-Detention- For the forseable future-", Minerva barked at them, dressed all in her night robes and cap, "-You two have traumatised Mr Lupin to the point that he fell down the tower steps and has seriously injured himself-". Sirius and James looked across the hospital wing to where Remus was propped up in bed, taking a swig of Skellegrow potion for his arm, which was all bandaged up. "-This is unnaceptable behaviour-". James groaned as Madame Pomfrey came over to them, handing Sirius a cold pack for his nose. He'd already told Minerva that they'd been trying to prank him, yet she continued to act like they'd pushed Remus down the steps themselves.

"-He seems all fine-", she informed a little tiredly , "-Mr Lupin should be all healed up by tommorow afternoon at the latest-". 

"-Thank you Poppy-", Minerva gave the woman a slightly melancholy smile , before returning to her previous frown, "-And don't either of you think that I will not be writing to your parents about this-". Remus furrowed his brows, watching as a fearful look crossed Sirius face. 

"-You cant!-", he cried. 

"-I can- and I will-", she replied firmly, watching Black seem to shrink into himself. 

"-But-". She gave James a disaproving look. "-Right ,Professor-".

The woman stepped out of the way, allowing Madame Pomfrey to examine the melancholy Sirius' nose. "-Well it's not broken- but you may look like rudolph tommorow-", she chuckled, taking away the coldpack, "-I think it's safe to say you are very lucky Mr Lupin didn't hit you harder than he did-".

"-Professor...-". Minerva turned away from the two boys , making her way quickly over to Remus. 

"-What is it Mr Lupin?-", spoke the woman kindly. 

"-James and Sirius....-", replied the boy, "-You aren't really going to write home to their parents...are you?-". 

"-I am deeply considering it-", returned the woman stiffly.

"-But....-", he examined Sirius' face again, biting down whatever temptation he had to allow them to receive karma for what they had done, "-They were only pranking me-". 

"-And caused serious harm to you too-", he replied, nodding her head to his bandage. 

"-I'd recon thats on part of me missing a few steps on the way down...-", he returned a little jokingly.

Minerva gave him a most admiring glance allowing herself to stop her frowning for a moment. "-You know not many first year students could fall down an entire flight of stairs and endure a painful injury only to joke about it and argue with the teacher who is attempting to punish the students that caused that same injury-". She folded her arms.

"-Not many first years....are used to hurting themselves-", replied Lupin honestly, before sighing, "-And Sirius was actually getting back at me because I tricked him into wearing a set of Peters robes....you know the day he set himself on fire-". Minerva raised her brow.

"-Well this incident certainly seems like an overreaction to such a mundane little joke-". 

"-I think 'over-reaction' should be Sirius' middle name-". Remus winced, shifting a little. "-That, or.....nevermind actually-". 

"-Is your arm causing you trouble ?-", concerned Minerva, ready to call over Madame Pomfrey.

"-No....my back Professor....", he glanced up to one of the windows, looking out as a greyish cloud eclipsed the moon, "-Its nearly that time...". And the woman gave him a sad look.

"-Bless you-", she spoke quietly, "-You brave, brave boy-". Yet her kind words did not give off the intended affect- and Remus snapped his eyes from her gaze, looking down to the tough blanket. 


	24. Thank you

"-Well that went great-". James and Sirius, after Black had been checked out by Madame Pomfrey, made their way back towards the Gryffindoor tower in near silence. Silence that was needed- for Sirius was thinking. It was an event that had been happening more in recent days. He was thinking, for one, why he had decided to do something so stupid, and for two, how his mother would react to the letter returning home. How Regulus would react. But he was sure maybe his father would be on his side. Usually when Sirius caused trouble around the house he deemed it as him being a 'growing boy', but then again he didn't know how his father reacted to the whole....Gryffindoor thing. Maybe he hated him as his mother did. She had said in her letter ' _we_ '. It was safe to say that Sirius well and truely felt sorry for himself, and not Remus Lupin . Not one bit. Actually he didn't even think about him once, not even when the pair of them stepped into the common room and all eyes were on Black , including those of the bundled up Lily Evans, who was explaining to Billius and Dorcas why Remus wasn't with her. Well that was until she spotted the boys.

"-You two are absolutely horrid-", she pointed with watery eyes, "-You made him hurt himself!- And for what?!-".

"-We didn't mean to , Muggleborn-",growled Sirius, pushing past her and up to the dormitories.

"-Well- I think someones already learning his lesson-", stated Billius to Lily, placing his hand on her shoulder as James tried to sneak past them, "-Not so fast Potter-". James slumped his shoulders, slowly turning back around to face Billius . "-What ever possesed you to prank Lupin like that- I'd recon that'd scare the life out of me too-".

"-It was Sirius' idea-", he argued,".... we thought.....-Sirius thought that it would be funny to scare Remus by pretending to be a Werewolf....you know, because his dad made the 'Restriction Act-". They all listened silently, allowing Potter to continue, even though Lily had been temped to jump in and speak a few times. "-It was meant to be a Prank, until he screamed like he did....and we didn't expect him freak like he did- neither did Sirius.He's always seemed so, _Meh_. Like he doesn't care. And I half thought that he would have just got mad at Sirius because nothing like this happened the other times we tried to scare him-". He looked down, "-I'm sorry, and I am sure Sirius is too....but it was supposed to be funny.....actually....it was funny at first....but now I feel a little bad". 

Dorcas, looking to Billus and Lily, gave Potter a small smile, "-Why don't you head up to Black , Potter- I'm sure he doesn't want to sulk alone -". And James immediately nodded, running after Sirius as Billius fell back into a chair with a huff.

"-You aren't just going to let them get away with it!?....are you?-". Lily shook her head. There had to be something more that the Prefects could do to James and Sirius to make them pay. It was enfuriating. And sure ,Remus and her were not the best of friends, but there was no reason to terrify anyone out of their wits, especially not someone as kind and careful as Remus Lupin.

"-And what good would we do?-", stated Billius, "-It was just meant to be a Prank, Evans. You'll see your fair share of them at your time here..... and as far as I am concerned the pair of them are in enough trouble..... Plus I can't give any further punishment without consulting....Miss Featherly-". He growled out the name. "-So theres not much I could do if I wanted to-".

"-Poor kid-", Dorcas shook her head, "-Looks like he got a good hit in on Sirius though-".

"-They were completely horrible to him-", Lily folded her arms, "-I don't beleive that Sirius is sorry for it either- he's the most horrid of the pair...-".

Billius raised his brow. "-Well, what about James then?-".

"-Pardon-".

"-I mean-", re-iterated Weasley, "-Do you believe James is sorry?-".

Lily thought for a moment, before shrugging. "-I'm not sure...". She then came to sit down beside Billius with a questioning look. "-I just remembered....I was supposed to ask who Miss Featherly is?- Is she a teacher?-". Dorcas gave Lily a warning look, jolting her head away as Weasley glared at her out of the corner of his eye. "-No...?-".

"-She's a demon- thats what she is-",he hissed resentfully, "-And the only other person apart from Dorcas from last years Quidditch team who's still here-".

"-Wait- you aren't seriously going to let her keep her position as Seeker, are you Bill?-", Dorcas stated.

"-She has to earn it- like everyone else-". He slumped back. "-Anyway, I don't think she'll even try out with me as Captain...".

"-James-", greeted Peter as Potter slipped into the bedroom, glancing to the lump on his the bed adjacent from Remus' that he assumed was Sirius.

"-Hey, Sirius?-", he leaned over, peering to the head of the bed to see that Black was seemingly asleep, "-Oh- that was fast-".

"-Yeah-", stated Peter, carefully, "-he stormed in, scribbled something on a piece of paper and went to sleep-".

"-Well-", James stepped on the back of his shoe, wriggling his foot out of it, "-It's probably best to leave him-". He them made his way over to his own bed, slipping out of his robes, before he paused, furrowing his brows. "-He seemed really upset-".

"-Who, Remus?-".

"-No-", James shook his head, "-Sirius. Especially when McGonagall said she was going to write home to our parents...he was all like-". He widened his eyes, frantically looking around the room. And Peter couldn't help but chuckle a little, feeling bad after a moment.

"-You got introuble too?-" ,spoke Peter, "-Shouldn't you be worried to?..". 

"-Well I was more worried about Sirius -", he proclaimed, "-He is my friend after all-".

Peter shifted closer to James, lowering his voice. "-A-Are you sure he's really your friend?-".

"-What do you mean?-", Potter leaned in to him.

"-Well-", explained Peter, "-I-I don't know much about Purebloods...l-like the Blacks....but I do know that they wont call someone by their name, u-unless they consider them as a friend-".

"-Sirius calls me Potter all the time-", argued James, removing his glasses.

"-Y-Yes- but-", muttered Peter, "-does he call you James....?". Potter sat Back.

Peter was right. He'd not called him James. Not once. "-I don't know Peter-", he argued quietly , "-I'm sure its just a Sirius thing-". Yet that night James laid awake in bed , until he heard a creak come from across the room. And so he slowly lowered his blanket, peering at Sirius as his raven hair shimmered in the slither of moonlight from the low window sat beside his bed.

"-Kreacher-", hissed Sirius, holding a piece of parchment in his grasp, "-Kreacher- I command you to come to me. Kreacher you horrible rat of an elf!-". And James realised, after a long moment, that Sirius was crying. There was a tear that rolled down his cheek, and his voice had cracked a few times. It was a strange thing to see, that was to say the least- and he'd had half the temptation to crawl out of bed and comfort him. Yet instead of bothering him, knowing that some people preffered to be alone when they were upset, Potter watched on until Sirius scrunched up the paper, throwing it towards where the heater sat in the centre of the room . "-Regulus....I'm sorry....". And with that he slipped back into bed, so that, the next morning, before the other boys awoke, James crept out of his own bed, coming to bring the paper into his hands that was a little seered at one edge.

**_Dear Regulus,_ **

**_I am sorry. I'm sorry for getting into Gryffindoor. I'm sorry for breaking my promise._ **

**_I wish I could see you._ **

James quickly placed the paper in his pocket, just as Sirius yawned, sitting up to meet his gaze. "-Potter?-", he spoke, rubbing his still slightly reddened eyes.

"-Morning Black-".

"-Black?-", Sirius chuckled.

"-Well, its your family name is it not?-", James replied, standing up straight as to not look suspicious.

Black frowned. "-Yeah....Yeah it is-". He then pulled the blanket off of his body, swivelling so that his short legs dangled off of the end of his bed. "-What class do we have today?-".

"-Umm- Potions-", smiled James, opening the chest at the end of Sirius's bed. And he brought out one of the robes, holding it out to Sirius' rather confused look.

"-....Um.....Thank....you-". And Potter's smile grew to more of a cheeky smirk. "-What?-".

"-So you _can_ say thank you!-".

"-I beg your pardon?-", Sirius took his robes.

"-You've never said thank you before?-", James stated, coming to sit down beside him.

"-...Haven't I?-". James shook his head. "-Then there must have not been any cause for me saying 'thank you'-". Potter blinked at him. "-What?-".

"-I....don't worry about it mate -", he sighed. 


	25. Engorgio

At breakfast the next morning, everyone took their chance at giving a look to Sirius, who'd gone back to silently brooding over his food, every so often smiling at something that James said . And they did see him, a couple of times, look towards the seat in which Remus usally sat, taking definate note of the fact that he was not there. It seemed that Sirius had gotten over his own self pity a little bit, and it was clear that he felt...a little bad in the least. But it was hard to tell. He could have very well have been glaring at the seat imagining shooting an Avada Kedavra at him for all they knew. His expression was hard to read as he swirled around his cereal, which had been the only thing that he'd eaten for breakfast since school had started , despite the selection before him. And after breakfast, him, James, Peter and Lily, who hung very far behind them, made their way to the Potions classroom, which was heated by the abundance of little fires scattered around the room.The first years then all stood around one of the two tables before empty couldrons and vials of ingredients-And they all listened as Slughorn explained the lesson rather animatedly , with Severus giving a few displeased looks to Black who, surprisingly ,hadn't bothered him once. Actually he'd not bothered anyone. He'd been listening to the teacher in silence, which left James and Peter looking a little surprised themselves. "-So you are all probably wondering why we have the classroom set up such as this. Well let me tell you today we have an exciting lesson to say the least. We are going to be doing a practical based off of the subject we spoke of last week. The cure for boils-". He waved his arm over the couldron in front of him. "-This was one that I made earlier. Miss Evans, would you lean towards the couldron and tell me what properties you can see-". Lily stood up on her tip-toes, peering into the couldron.

"-I can see-", she jolted back a little as a puff of pink smoke eminated from the couldron, "-P-Pink smoke, and the potion is blue-".

"-Very good-", stated Slughorn, "-And can anyone remember what gives the Potion is blue tone- what about you , Miss Fortescue-".

"-I- Um-", Alice wrinkled her brows, "-I cant remember sir- I think-". Severus raised his arm, cutting her off.

"-Mr Snape- would you like to help your fellow classmate-". Mary frowned at him , knowing that Alice had been about to answer the question. Yet she just breathed quite the sigh of relief, knowing that whatever her answer would have been, it probably would have been wrong. Her specialty was Herbology, not Potions.

"-Flobber worm mucus-", he stated- to which James chuckled, leaning towards Sirius.

"-Probably what he washes his hair with-".Peter sniggered, catching Lilys attention for a moment -Yet Sirius remained rather stone faced. But it was easy to tell that he very much would have wanted to laugh at the joke.

"-Perfect Mr Snape-", he stated, placing his hands on his hips, "-two points to Slytherin-".

"-Well done Sev-", smiled Lily, patting him on the arm.

"-Hey-", chuckled Mary, "-Who's house are you in Evans?-". And Lily's smile turned into a bit of a frown. She'd only been trying to encourage Severus.

"-Leave her alone-", warned Snape to the girl, to which she raised her palms.

"-I was only joking-".

"-Now-", continued Slughorn, twinkling at them all, "-You will all go off into groups of two and open your potions books to page two-hundered and three, where the instructions to procure this potion can be found. Which ever pair manages to procure a perfect potion will receive five points each for their houses-". There came a little murmur of excitement that followed his words. "-Now, off you go-". Lily and Severus made their way over to the table in which they usually sat , coming around a couldron- and Mary and Alice did the same, immediately setting to work as the prospect of getting ten points for their house sounded great. This left James, Sirius and Peter stood together. "-Oh dear, it appears that we are missing a Gryffindoor-".

"-Well then we'll just have to work in a three-", stated James, placing a hand on Peters round shoulder, to which the boy nodded quickly, not wanting to be excluded .

"-That wont do-", Slughorn shook his head, "-It means one of you will be left with nothing but to look about the classroom like a lost ghost . Come Mr _Pottingbrew_ , you shall join me-". Peter looked to Potter for help as Slughorn took him by the arm, pulling him across the table towards the other couldron.

"-Poor Peter-", whispered James, "-I wouldn't want Sluhorn hanging over my shoulder-". Sirius seemed to shift uncomfortablly at the mention of 'shoulder'. "-Anyway, Have you ever brewed a potion before?-".

"-Oh- yeah-", stated Sirius, opening the potions book to the correct page, "-I remember my Mother made me and my little brother Regulus brew this potion-". He smiled a little at the memory. "-I can never remember what it's called, but long story short-". Sirius pointed to one of the vials, and James lifted it up , scanning the lable. "- I decided to pour everything in the couldron and - _boom_ \- A line of flames shoots across the room and hits the end of the grand piano-". Potter smiled, glad to see the boy lighting up a little. "-It still sounds funky when you play it even though its been fixed-".

"-You play piano?-", James peered at the book, popping the lid from the vial.

"-You dont?-", returned Sirius, "-I love playing the piano. There something about it-".

"-And do you play well?-", he poured the vials contents , which looked very much like a fine powder.

"-Of course I do-", he smirked, "-I'm Sirius Black-".

James chuckled. "-Well you need to 'Sirius-ly' let me see that book in case I accidently just put the wrong thing in-".

"-It says....add for measures of fine-Sev!-", Lily watched as he poured the entire vial of crushed fangs into the couldron, watching as it hissed against the bottom, melting down into a globby liquid, "-You can't just throw things without meas-".

"-Lily-", he assured, "-Trust me- I have read this book five times- I know what im doing-". He folded his arms, watching it burn slowly. "-We have to leave it for twenty minuets-".

"-But-", Lily pointed to the page, "-It says thirty-three to thirty-five minuets-".

"-Twenty-", he repeated, "- If you heat it for that long the ingredients will heat up too much and the potion will end up being weak-".

Lily glanced back to the book. "-Are you saying that you know better than the potions book?-".

"-Yes-", he stated confidently, "-Remember that summer that you came to my house and there was a potion brewing on the table-".

"-Y-yeah-". Lily could recall it, just as well as she could recall the terrible state of the Snape family home. It was a miserable, dark , dingy sort of place, and a far cry from the vibrancy and love of the Evans house-hold, which was located on the other, more upper class end of town.

"-That was this potion-", he stated, "- I was making it for mum...when she got ill-".

"-I didn't know your mum was ill-", stated Lily, to which Severus nodded slolwy.

"-Thirty-three minuets-", groaned James, dropping the book on the counter, "-can't we make it go any faster-".

Sirius leaned down, looking at the measley flame that barely tapped the bottom of the couldron. "-Probably- if that was bigger-".

"-Well-", James examined, "-Whats the name of the spell that makes things bigger again? -my dad normally uses it on his coffee-". He could easily see the greatly aged Charlus Potter , waving his wonky wand over the top of his mug.

"-Engorgio- I think-", replied Sirius.

"-Well, have you cast it before?-", Asked Potter hopefully.

"-Yeah...on my house-elfs ears-", he explained ,"-but...I". Black glanced to Proffessor Slughorn. "-I'd rather not get into any trouble-".

"-I'll do it then-", James brought his wand from his pocket, pointing it at the flame.

"-Uh- Are you sure you know how to cast spells?-".

"-Pfffft- yeah-", stated James half- confidently, "-Maybe...I've only done simple things like....Leviosa-". He practice different wand motions. "-Which motion is it for 'Engorgio'-".

"-You just-", Sirius picked up the empty vial, pretending it was a wand, "-Strike forwards and say ' engorgio'-".

"-Cool-Cool-". He lifted back his wand, swatting it forwards, to which Sirius held forwards his hands to shield his face. "- _Engorgio_!-". And the flame beneath the couldrom shot up so high that it scolded the ceiling, to which both boys yelp, stumbling backwards so that they fell onto the ground,in a bundle of robes and flailing limbs.

Black then drew his wand from his pocket as fast as he could . "- _Finite_!-", and the flame returned to normal, allowing them a clear view of their classmates and teachers startled faces, from Peter cowereing beneath the table, to Alice, Lily, Mary and Severus staring at them with wide eyes. And he turned to look at Potter as his glasses split in the middle, falling apart in two pieces.

"-My glasses!-", he cried, now very much unable to see.

"-Your glasses?!-", Sirius burst into laughter, "-Your eyebrows more like!- They're gone !-". Alice and Marry began to snigger, and even Evans couldn't help but smirk.

******

"-Well done Mr Snape-", smiled Professor Sluhorn, as he and Lily made their way out of the classroom, "-That may have been the finest Cure for Boils I have ever seen. I may even possibly give some to Madame Pomfrey-".

"-Oh- I-", he smiled a little, "-Thank you sir- but Lily helped too-". Evans furrowed her brows at him. She hadn't helped, not one bit. All she'd done for the entire lesson was hold a book whilst Severus brewed the potion. That was it.

"-Well, It seems you must be very talented Miss Evans, despite your set backs-". 

"-Set backs?-", she questioned to Severus as the pair of them began to make their way from the classroom, through the dark hallway and towards the stony steps, "-What did he mean by that?-".

"-He means your a Muggleborn-", stated Snape, a little too caught up in his own pride to notice the dismay in Lily's voice.

"-But- Thats surely not a set back? Is it-".

Severus shrugged. "-Maybe for some Muggleborns-".

She brought her Potions book to her chest. "-So...then I have set backs?-".

"-What?-", Snape quickly shook his head, realising what he had said, "-No Lily- Your perfect. You don't have any set backs-".

"-But you said that some mu-".

"-Exactly-", he cut off, "-Some Muggleborns, not all of them. Not you. You are _always_ amazing Lily, and you always will be -". Lily smiled to his compliment , bouncing a little as she walked.

"-Thanks Sev-". They made their way upstairs to the entrance of the Great Hall, in which Sirius , James and Peter sat , eating their Lunch with Frank, Alice and Marlene, who cackled at James' lack of eyebrows.

"-How in Godrics name did you do that?-", laughed Longbottom as James wrapped his glasses in cello tape, which Sirius poked with his finger, flapping his hand around frantically when it became stuck.

"-Engorgio -", explained Potter, placing his glasses back on his face, yet they ended up sitting wonky on his nose. And he helped Sirius peel the cello tape from his finger.

"-T-Thank you-".

Marlene raised her brows. "-Wow- that is the first time I have ever heard you say thank you. Well done Black. You do have manners after all-".

"-Shut up ugly-", he returned.

"-Hey Sev-", Lily nuged him as he eyed the Slytherin table, catching Lucicus' gaze, who took his arm from Narcissa's shoulder, giving the boy a look of consideration, "-Would you like to come and sit with me-?".

"-What?-". He seemed entirely surprised. She'd never asked him to come over to the Gryffindoor table with her before. And a little shrill of excitement shot through him. He would have loved to spend more time with Lily. All he really did want is to spend time with her. "-I would....".

"-Snape-". They looked up to see Mulciber, who sneered at Evans. It was the kind of sneer that an evil mastermind would give his meek pray in one of those movies that Mr Evans enjoyed watching on a saturday evening . "- Malfoy has invited you to sit with us- for Merlin knows hat reason -". Lily stepped away, looking entirely uncomfortable in the boys presence.

"-But I....", he frowned, noticing Sirius looking over from the Gryffindoor bench. And he felt a amount of oppertunity well up within it. Sirius would have been furious to see him welcomed over to sit with his cousin and her fiance. He knew he would have, "-Sorry Lily-".

"-Its fine Sev-", she twinkled, giving him a swift hug before hopping over to the Gryffindoor table.

"-Aww- You've got a little Mudblood girlfriend-", he narrowed his eyes, "-And she's ginger-". Snape gave him a glare, before storming over to the Slytherin table.


	26. Odd

"-Oi Evans-", smiled James as Lily came to sit down, making sure there was at least a five person gap between them. There was no way on earth that she'd sit beside James Potter. That was for sure. And she glared at him, reaching for a sandwhich from the centre of the table as Peter flapped for one himself, nearly falling off of his seat. "-Oh come on- why are you ignoring me?- I was only saying hello-".

She lifted the top of her sandwhich, peering inside of it for any sign of cheese. "-Because, Potter- I don't like you-". She then pointed at Sirius. "-Or you-". Yet she gave a smile to Peter. "-Your'e okay actually-".

"-But you like slimey Snivellous-", he retorted with a smiek, to which she thumped her sandwhich down in her plate.

"-Don't be mean Potter-". Her nose wrinkled. He had no reason to be so mean about him, especially since he was on the other side of the room. And, despite the fact that Lily didn't like hexing, she would have thought he'd have learned his lesson about being mean to Severus after he made him babble nonsense."- And I bet you only call him that because Sirius calls him that-". If Sirius Black did something, James did it too- that had become clear enough.

Potter shook his head. "-Thats not true-", he pointed at Black, who was still intrigued by the cellotape, with his thumb, "-He calls him Greasey-". Sirius then nodded, reaching in his pocket to bring out a quill, which he poked at the stick surface with. Yet as he did so, he noticed Snape sit down between Narcissa and Lucius, accidentally coming to poke his thumb.

"-But-", Lily let out a slightly annoyed groan. "-You...you just shouldn't call him anything!- He's done nothing too you two. He never did. And Sev is so nice too-".

"-Severus Snape-", hissed Sirius, placing down the quill , "-Is anything but nice. He's a greasey, big nosed, hairy hearted twit who snivells and whimpers. And i'm sure he _hates_ Muggles too , which is why I'm surprised he still keeps you around, Muggleborn-". Lily glared at him. "-What?-".

"-Sev doesn't hate Muggles-", she stated, "-his dads a Muggle- And He's met my parents too- and my sister Petunia, and she's a Muggle-".

"-Wait, what?-", Alice furrowed her brows, "-How does that work then?- You get magic, and she doesn't-". It was quite strange that only one Sister would end up magical, and the other end up Muggle. Surely it were unlikely. But then again, it wasn't like Muggleborns were entirely common.

"-I guess....-", Lily frowned, clearly not wanting to talk about it- to which James stared at her face, glancing back to Sirius, and then to her again. It was the same face he had pulled that Morning when James had called him 'Black' after reading the note to Sirius' brother, which sat right at the bottom of his pocket.

"-If I was your sister-", announced Marlene, "-I would be well and truely vexed about that. I'd probably hate you. Can you imagine how it must feel to have your sister be special and your just boring-". A rather guilty look rushed over Evans' face.

"-Marlene-", warned Frank, seeing that she was talking too much.

"-What?-", she took a bite of her sandwhich, "-I'm just being honest. I would loathe her. And you know what would be worse, if she were prettier than me too. I'd be fuming-".

"-Well its not hard to be prettier than you-", announced Black, to which she gave him a sarcastic smile.

Lily then stood, "-I need to get my books for next lesson-". And she stormed out of the hall, leaving her sandwhich resting on her plate.

"-Whats her problem?-", Marlene spoke obliviously as James watched her go, feeling his pocket grow a little heavier as Sirius frowned to the table, having now well and truely gotten over the humor of their little explosive accident.

"-Your mouth-", Frank elbowed her, "-Couldn't you see that it was upsetting her?-".

"-No-", she stated through a mouth of food, watching as James too stood out of his seat, "-Where ya' going Potter-?".

"-I - uh- left my book in the Potions classroom-". Sirius furrowed his brows looking up to James. And even Peter looked a little confused, even though he was more pre-occupied with his lunch.

"-No you-", James covered his mouth, to which he jolted away from his palm.

"-I should go and get it-". Black blinked at him in disbeleif, watching him then potter his way out of the hall. And Frank smirked, shaking his head.

"-You all saw that ,right?-", asked Sirius, to which they nodded as the same scragly old owl that had brought Sirius' letter came swooping through the open window of the hall, carrying a rolled up bit of paper in its claws. And it came to rest before Black, holding it out to him so that he could examine the seal- which was then that he discovered it wasn't from his mother- it was from Regulus. His Regulus. So he eagerly snatched it away , rolling it open in the concealment of his hair to take in every word.

**_Dear Sirius,_ **

**_I am not meant to be writing to you. Mother told me not to but I just haven't heard from you in so long I want to send a letter of my own. I'm not upset that you got into Gryffindoor. Mother is though, and well, Father hasn't said much of anything about it. But I just wanted you to know that no matter the house that you have ended up in, I am sure that you will still be able to do well. You promised that you would- and you can never take back a promise. However, I must go now- mother is coming._ **

**_I can't wait to see you again._ **

**_-R.A.B_ **

There was moment after reading the letter that Sirius felt as though a great weight had been lifted up from his shoulders,until it came crashing back down twice as heavy. When Minerva's letter arrived at Grimmauld place....Regulus was sure to find out that Sirius had broken his promise....and the idea of that seemed to nullify his brothers assurances- to which he crunched up the paper, glaring at its crumpled form.

*******

"-Oi-Evans-", James followed Lily up towards the moving stairs, giving her a smile as she turned around with a slightly angry look. One that she had put on to hide her sadness. "-You okay?- You ran off....-".

"-Like you care, _Potter_ -", she returned, looking him up and down, "-Nice eyebrows-".

He smirked. "-I recon' I look pretty good this way-", he lowered his glasses, "-there's a few hairs left still, look-". Yet Lily wrinkled her nose at him. "-Or dont-".

"-Potter-", she spoke rather formally, "-Why have you followed me?-".

James fixed his glasses. "-Isn't it obvious- You ran out of the hall upset?-".

She folded her arms. "-And why do you care?- We aren't even friends-", she then raised a brow, "-And when Sirius scared Remus you seemed to care more about Black than him-".

"-Well then you clearly didn't see Sirius' face-", replied James, holding onto the stone bannister , "-He was upset too-".

"-Oh really-". She didn't beleive him. Not one bit. "-Why on earth would Sirius be upset?-".

"-Well...that is the other reason why I followed you-", he looked a little guilty for a second, "-I mean the main reason....".

"-What?-", Lily furrowed her brows, watching as James brought Sirius' note from his pocket, holding it out to her. And she hesitantly stepped down towards him, taking it from his hand- to which James watched her features settle with every word written. "-Who's Regulus?-".

"-Sirius' brother-", he stated , to which Lily lowered the paper, "-I don't have siblings..... So I don't understand what Sirius must have been feeling.... or why he wrote that letter-".

"-Well its obvious-", she pointed, "-He's saying sorry-".

"-I know that-", spoke James, "-Just I thought- I don't know- I thought maybe there was something I could do to cheer him...And I thought you might know the answer to that....seeing as you have a sister. Maybe something that siblings would do....when one of them is upset -".

"-I don't know -", she handed him back the paper, "-Petunia used to braid my hair to cheer me up...-".

"-So-", he wrinkled his brows, "-You want me to braid Sirius' hair?-". Unknown to the pair, Severus made his way out into the hall, spotting them on the steps. And so he jumped back, concealing himself behind a corner with his long nose still peaking out as he watched them talking, feeling a great deal of jelousy well up within his stomach.

"-Well he certainly has enough of it-". They both laughed a little, seeming quite awkward after a moment. "-I think....maybe you should find out something that him and his brother did together....I know that would cheer me up- not that i'm saying Sirius deserves to be cheered up. I still think what he did to Remus- what the pair of you did - its unacceptable, and more than just a horrid prank-".

"-And I will make sure to take the time to apologise to him when he comes back-", stated James honestly with a cheeky smile, and Lily folded her arms, inspecting him, "-I swear. And maybe even the sky might fall down and Sirius will apologise to him-". Her thin lips turned up into a little smile, that complimented her reddish speckled cheeks. "

"-It better be a good apology-", she commanded, "-I'm serious -".

James' eyes lit up mischeviously. "-Woah- You should be a Qudditch Captain Evans-", he placed his hands on his hips, "-You have a right strong voice when you want to- especially with that accent- 'An' I Wan'ter See ya' ApoloG-aise - Bot'th o'v yer'-".

"-I don't sound like that you cheeky git-", she flapped open her arm, slamming into something- which , after a moment, she realised was Proffessor Marquis, who fumbled a letter from her hands, allowing it to flutter down to James' feet. And he peered at it , noticing that the adress was not to her, but to a 'Professor A. Dumbledore' and whomever else it concerned. "-Sorry Professor!-", apologised Lily quickly as the woman smiled at her. And James reached down to the letter, coming to hold it out to her.

"-Thats alright Miss Evans-", she snatched the letter back, "-And thank you Mr Potter-".

He narrowed his eyes a little in confusion. It was strange. There was no reason why Proffessor Marquis should have a letter adressed to Dumbledore. "-Your welcome , Proffessor-". She met his odd look with a slightly caught out one, before hurrying off past them . 

"-Oh No- I hit her-".

James ignored Lilys worry, turning back to her. "-The letter she had- did you see it?-".

"-No-", Lily had been too busy apologising to notice anything strange.

"-It was adressed to Professor Dumbledore-".

"-Dumbledore-", she echoed. 

"-Yeah...- Its strange- no?-".

"-I don't know...maybe-", half agreed Evans, "-It's probably nothing-". Lily then sighed, glancing up the stairs. "-Well- I should be off....-", she smiled , "-Good luck with Black-". And upon hearing this, Severus furrowed brows, turning back towards where he had come from with a long moment of reluctance.

"-...Lily....". The girl paused, having just been about to make her way up the steps, caught off guard by the way in which he had spoken her name. "-Sirius isn't as bad as you think he is....-". 

"- Blimey Potter-", she laughed after a moment, beginning to run up the stairs, "-You'd think you're his guardian angel-". 


	27. Wizards Chess

Sirius , James and Peter stepped into the common room, coming to sit down on the sofa before the fire, which was greatly comfortable, being all warm and cosy- yet normally it was occupied by the elder students, meaning that they hadn't really gotten an oppertunity to sit there. There was enough room for all three of them, with a clearly vacant space at the end on which Sirius had half the temptation to sprawl out on as he chattered away to James . After lunch they'd had a _delightful_ History of Magic lesson with Binns, who had spent the entire time staring at the wall, being more boring and oblivoius than usual. And for the whole lesson, whilst Peter hauntedly waited for him to suddenly spin around and scare them like Peeves, James had been constantly asking Sirius questions about his home - most of which were vaguely answered. Like, for instance, James had asked him about his favorite room in his house, to which Sirius had not even bothered responding to . "-So, what was your favorite thing to do at home?-", he asked Sirius at one point,almost falling onto him from his seat. And Sirius, who had actually been doing the work, placed his quill back into his pot of ink, streatching his arms. "-Like It could be something that you....and your brother did-", he fluttered his lashes at him, to which Sirius shrugged.

"-I like the piano...or Wizards chess. The last game I played with Regulus was Wizards chess-". He smirked a little. "-But I like making up my own rules-".

"-You mean you like cheating_", chuckled Potter, quickly pretending to scribble something down as Professor Binns took a moment to glance at him. And Alice, who had overheard the boys, leaned towards them.

"-Billius has Wizards chess if you boys are thinking about playing it -". They turned towards her with a suspicious look. "-What?-".

"-How do you know that?-", simpered Sirius, "-Been in his room have you Fortescue-". James chuckled to his comment, not actually knowing what he had meant.

"-No Sirius-", she responded , "-He was talking about it the other morning at breakfast. Its in that long chest by the furthest window-". She shot back into her seat as the Professor looked over again. "-Its basically at the bottom-".

"-Oh -Thanks Alice-", smiled James.

"-Don't worry about it Potter-". She then had returned to chattering with Mary about the newest band in Witch weekly, of which both boys had no interest in. They'd never actually talked about that kinds of stuff. Music had never really come up, probably because neither of them had thought much about it . So James sat up straight, yawning.

"-Hey, Sirius-". Black nodded. "-What music do you listen to?-".

"-Um...". Sirius hadn't actually ever really listened to music, only the overly dramatic orchestral stuff that his mum listened too. It always sounded the same, with great Viola screeches and dense trumpet horns, which were quite odd. But he had heard other Music before. He remembered that Andromeda used to listen to lots of music, and Bellatrix too, despite their styles being very different. Yet the only music Sirius had been involved with was that he made himself, with a piano and his mouth. He used to make up all kinds of songs when he was bored, but none of them ended up ever being very good. He wasn't creative in the apsect of lyric writing. "-None....-".

"-You don't listen to Music?-", Sirius shrugged instead of shaking his head, swatting some of his hair that now rested about his jaw away from his mouth, "-Elvis?-".

"-No-".

"-The Beatles then?-", offered James.

"-What do Beatles have to do with Music?-", he responded Obliviously.

"-Oh c'mon mate- you can't tell me you've never heard of the Beatles-They made that song : ' _Ahhh- look at all the lonely people_ ' -", he chuckled, inspecting the confusion on his friends face, wondering if maybe Sirius might have heard of something more mellow, like the Music his mum listened to. "-What about Etta James, or Nina Simone?-".

"-Okay- now you're just saying words-", spoke Sirius in a disbeleiving manner.

"-How have you never listened to Music before?-", wondered James. Even when he'd not wanted to hear music at home he would hear it. It was inescapable."-It isn't the sixteen-hundereds- _my_ dad never stops playing records and mum's always got the radio on whilst shes having a gander with her friends on the landline-". Sirius had to take a second to absorb everything he'd said, having never heard three of the words before in his life.

"-I- I didn't understand half of that-", he responded, sounding ever more 'tofty' - And so James had set out on explaining what , first a radio was and then a landline, which had taken them until the end of lesson and to the Fat Lady Portrait for Sirius to understand, which was when he explained what a 'gander' was too. "-So a Landline is also called a...Phone....and you speak to people directly with it, whilst they're elsewhere...like fire communication-". Potter nodded, holding his hands towards the fire as it crackled in the hearth before them. The school just seemed to be getting colder with every passing day, and it was clear that they were going to be having a very, very chilly winter. "-And a radio...plays music like....without a record....and a 'gander' is a chat- and a chat is....a conversation-".

"-Yeah- Thats it-", James then rubbed his hands together, scanning towards the chest before the window as Frank came down the steps, "-Oi- Longbottom-".

"-Yeah James-", he looked a little hurried, wearing his tie around his wrist rather than his neck, "-I'm late to Astronomy-".

"-Well do you have the time to pass us the Wizards Chess from in that box?-".

"-Well I would-", he replied , "-But Remus is already using it-". Sirius' eyes shot a little wide, and James seemed to sink into his robes guiltily.

"-Hes back?-". Remus had been gone a little longer than expected- yet James and Sirius had been so focused on other things that they barely even noticed.

"-Yep- Upstairs-". Peter looked between James and Sirius, seeing their looks grow even more prominent as Frank hurried out of the door, until Potter sighed. Seeing as Remus was back the pair of them should have gone to see him. He _had_ already told Lily that he was going to apologise anyway, so there was no sense in backing out then. Though he would have much rather pretended that Remus wasn't back until the next morning. But the longer after the event they left it, the less sincere an apology would have felt.

"-Come on Sirius-", he pushed up from his seat.

"-Oh no-", the boy shook his head quickly, "-He might try and take my nose off again-".

"- _Sirius_ -", sighed James, "-I said to Evans that you would apologise to him-".

"-You did what?-", Black then furrowed his brows, "-Wait!? earlier you ran after Evans- didn't you?-".

"-Who ran after who now?-". They fell silent, looking to the entrance of the dormitory steps as Remus stood there with the box of Wizards chess in hand, seeming quite tired. 

"-R-Remus -", smiled James , "- I- uh....I'm sorry mate....for what happened-". Remus cocked his brow at the sudden apology . "-It was...meant to be a prank...and I don't think any of us expected that you would....".

"-Freak out?...-", he shifted, wincing a little, "-....I suppose that would be... _ow_...the word for it-". Sirius sat up suspiciously, inspecting how stiffly he moved about. He looked in worse condition than he had been in the Hospital wing.

"-Are you okay?-", wondered Potter, having noticed it himself.

"-Yeah....- Just....slept funny is all-". He then glanced to Black, who seemed a little taken aback, searching Remus' face. "-I suppose you'll be apologising too-".

"-I....". James gave him a half threatening, half encouraging look, "-I'm....It was meant to be a prank-".

Remus shook his head. "-...I suppose thats an apology-".

Sirius frowned. "-I wasn't apologising-", he raised his nose to him snootily, "-I'm not the one who over-reacted-".

"- _Fine_ -", responded Remus in a low voice, bringing the Chess board over to one of the tables, "-James....You are forgiven-". Potter smiled a little, watching him slowly sit down.

"-Hey!-", Squeaked Sirius, diving to his feet, "-What about me you, tall ,moody ....-". He then stopped himself, revising what he had said in his mind.

"-You know why-", returned Lupin, pulling the chess board from the box, "-You have to apologise to be forgiven. And it'll be harder to forgive you on the grounds that your so rude -Not to mention a racist- and your horrible to your own friends, like when you shoved Peter into the common room-".

"-I'm not rude- nor am I a racist - and I certainly am not horrible to anyone who doesn't deserve it-", Sirius shoved past James, coming to thump himself down in the seat across from Remus as he set up the game. "-Just accept that it was a prank and grow up-".

"-This isn't going to go well-", whispered James to Peter, who shook his head quickly. There hadn't seemed to be anyone who had enfuriated Sirius more than Remus Lupin. Well, except for maybe Snape.

"-Fine then-", Remus spoke casually, "-lets play a game -". He pushed the board closer towards him. "-You beat me and Wizards chess, and you don't have to apologise to me and I will gladly accept that it was just a stupid prank and that, according to you, I need to grow up-". Remus took a sharp breath. "-Loose...and you better get on your knees and apologise-". There was a twinge of fury in Lupins eye as he said this, one that argued with his calm outward appearance. "-Or you can just leave it and accept that what I said about you is true - up to you?-".

He glared at him. "-Your on , _Scarface_ -. I'm a Black - I don't get on my knees for _anyone_ -".

Remus bobbed his head once in acknowledgement as James and Peter came towards then, attracting the attention of Billius and Dorcas as the boys began playing. "-Whats going on here?-", he asked to Potter, entirely surprised to see Sirius and Remus doing anything together.

"-If Sirius wins, he doesn't have to apologise- and if Remus wins then Sirius has to get down on his knees and apologise-", explained Potter, which Weasley relayed to Dorcas, who told Mary and Alice as they were passing through the common room, who then informed Lily, who was quite just glad to see that Lupin was alright. "-Come on Black-", encouraged James as the game commenced (though he was slightly rooting for Remus, especially since Lily was with them) , moving at quite a steady pace with Sirius almost shouting at the pieces, for once playing by the rules in fear of loosing. And he would have won too through this manner , if not for Remus' final move.

"-Pawn, two spaces to the left-". Sirius watched as the piece moved across the board, swatting at his knight as another of Remus' pieces destroyed his Queen, which shattered, rolling across the board. And Peter cheered for Remus, quickly silencing himself as Sirius practically flew out of his chair.

"-Hey!-", he cried, "-You cheated-". And to everyone's surprise, Remus gave him a devious smirk.

"-I never said there were any rules. You can't cheat if there are no rules....".

"-Its true-", defended James a little, "-He didn't say there was rules-".

"-B-But....I just assumed that you would be playing by the rules-", he argued, thumping his hands on the table so that the pieces shuddered.

"-Well _maybe_ you shouldn't just assume things when you don't know everything about the opponent-", returned Lupin quitely, with Black being the only one to recognise that there was unintentionally something else within his words. And Sirius sat back into his chair slowly , holding his gaze with Lupin who looked away first after a moment, smiling to Lily. And in those short few seconds in which they had locked eyes, it had become apparent to him that it seemed there was far more to the boy than he'd initially realised- and to that, curiosity seized him by the arms. That desire the hat had spoken of. He should have seen it before. The calm demenour. The unexpressive way in which he spoke. He was clearly hiding something - and Sirius wanted to know what.

"-I believe you have lost Sirius-", smirked Billius, sitting back onto the arm of the sofa with Dorcas. And James had half- expected him to burst out into a fit of shouting again about the fact that Lupin had cheated, but he didn't. Black simply stood, coming to stand before Lupin, before settling down onto his knees.

"-I'm....-", he moved his mouth about, struggling to get out the words, "-Sorry-". And after a moment, he heard Remus snort.

"-Oh get up Black-", he held his hand out to him, "-I was joking-". And to that , Lily, Mary, Alice , Frank and Dorcas laughed, which made Black feel like a right....pushover. Yet he laughed all the same, concealing his falseness with a glare. "-I forgive you. I understand that it was a prank....meant to be a prank. And its a surprise that you remember that my dad made the Werewolf Restriction Act...seeing as in the eyes of 'your lot' he'd be considered something of a 'Blood traitor' -". Even though it had upset him, Lupin was able to joke about it, and to that Lily was very impressed. And she noticed James smiling to her, to which she rolled her eyes, knowing why he looked so proud of himself.

.....Yet Maybe he was right. Maybe Sirius Black wasn't as bad as he seemed either.


	28. Halloween hunt

That Saturday, James and Sirius had the pleasure of having to stomp their way across the castle at the crack of dawn , lead by a half asleep Billius, to the Office of Minerva McGonagall, which was a small place located just off of the first floor. Yet despite its most familliar of locations, Billius still found himself a little lost, shifting in the warmth of his jumper. The entire school was freezing cold with the stone floors and walls feeling rather like blocks of ice. " -Five years I've been here and I'm still getting lost -I swear this school needs a map-", he complained , to which James chuckled, skipping a little to keep warm as Sirius shoved his pink hands into the pockets of his waist coat.

"-Thats what Sirius said-". They'd then stepped into the silent room as Minerva marked homework in swift motions with her quill, coming to glance up at them after a moment as Weasley attempted to slip from the room, wanting to get back to the warmth of the common room before everyone else in the house woke up. But of course he couldn't get away that easily.

"-Mr Weasley-". His shoulders slumped as he turned back around with a smile, pointing the boys towards the two chairs that sat before the womans desk with his eyes. "-Is everything ready to begin tryouts this November?- I hope Miss Prewett gave you enough instruction on how it all works- and i've been told that you have been pestering Madame Hooch....quite regularly-".

"-Yes-", he replied, "-And It'll be Mrs Weasley soon enough-". Minerva's entire face seemed to light up. "- My brother had the guts to propse- They're going to be getting married this January. And little Bill is going to be the ring bearer-".

"-How lovely-", she beamed, "-You may leave now Mr Weasley-".

"-Y-yes Professor-", He went to leave, before pausing, "-Would you like me to extend an invitation to you?-".

"-Oh no my dear-", she returned, just glad to hear of how they were doing, "- I am sure i will have far too much work to do. But I will be wanting to see pictures- lots of them too-".

"-Of course Professor-", nodded Billius, before continuing his way out of the room as her attention then turned to the two awkward looking first years, who had been captivated by a little china plate of biscuits.

"-Well. Here we are boys-", she moved her papers asside, clasping her hands together,"- Right. Who wants to tell me how our little incident occured first-". Her eyes switched between them. "-Neither of you-".

"-Professor-", smiled Potter, leanining one shoulder towards her cutely, "-You cant really be mad at us- can you?-". She returned him with a blank expression, to which he retreated back into his seat. "-Right...".

"-It was....it was my idea-", then admitted Sirius with a great deal of hesitance, "-It was meant to be funny-".

"-Well-", she spoke, "- 'funny' is not the term I would use. 'Cruel' - most definately-".

"-We did apologise-", argued James, "-Sirius even got on his knees-".

"-Shut up , Potter-", he hissed in an embarrissed way.

"-Is that so-", she brought a cup of tea that had been steaming on the desk to her lips, "-And how did Mr Lupin take it-".

"-Well he laughed at Sirius", announced James again .

"-I thought I said 'shut up'-", repeated Black.

"-But we havent actually spoken to him properly since though-".

"-Well, I believe that we should all be thankful for Mr Lupins level of maturity- and Sirius getting on his knees- that this 'prank' did not turn into a full out war between the three of you-", she placed the cup down, "- though I must state that this should not have occured in the first place. I'd expect better from the pair of you-".

Sirius raised a brow. "-The pair of us?-". From what he had learned, the only person who seemed to most probably have high expectations for him out of the teaching staff was Professor Slughorn, and that was only because he was a Black.

"-Yes-", she confirmed, "-I expect better for all of my Gryffindoors. Even ones that do not want to be , Gryffindoors-".

Black looked away from her a little guiltily, bringing a short silence. "-So Professor-", spoke James, breaking through the hint of building tension, "-What will we be doing for you. Lines.....cleaning?-". He watched as she moved the plate of biscuits towards him.

"-Have a biscuit Potter-". He hesitantly reached forwards to take one as she moved the plate towards Sirius, who took a little longer than James had to accept the offer. "-At these 'detentions' I would like to hear about your week-". The boys seemed thuroughly confused. "-So I can examine an improvement in your behaviour- and ensure that nothing such as this happens again. And If I hear of anything that concerns me I will gladly intervine-".

"-But it was only one Prank-", stated James, taking a bite of his biscuit.

"-Mr Potter- I am not blind, nor ignorant as many others are. And I am wholly aware of you and Mr Black, chasing Mr Snape into the Forbidden forest in September-". Their eyes widened. "-If you were not too focused on attacking Mr Snape , you may have noticed a small Tabby cat watching you as you crossed the treeline- No?- ". Sirius almost fumbled the biscuit out of his hand. "-Well I certainly must say I saw the pair of you- and you owe it to Professor Dumbledore's... odd leniance, the fact that you were still new to the school and the manner in which your Prefects have clearly handled the situation that you did not have a letter sent home then- and that you are not facing far worse than weekly detentions- ".

"-Professor I....".

"-No excuses Mr Black- or you Mr Potter-", she took a rather slow breath, "-I do not want the pair of you to go down the wrong path- or getting yourselves into too much trouble- godric forbid-".

Sirius sat up a little defensively. "-Is that because _I am_ friends with Potter , Professor-", he challenged.

"-No, Mr Black. Though I am aware it would appear that way and I should have used a better choice of words-", she fixed, "-And if that were to have been the case, which it is not, I'd be more concerned of you being friends with Mr Potter-".

"-Hey-", chuckled James, "-What have I done?-".

"-You are Fleamont Potter's son- thats what. I know better than to expect nothing but good behaviour from you-", she returned with a strangely mischevious smirk that did not much suit a teacher. And it was safe to say that Sirius was surprised, chuckling at the appauled expression on James' face. "-Anyhow, what you two will be doing for me is completing some homework-". She took out two sheets from within her desk, placing them infront of the boys.

"-Yes Professor-", they chimed, having discovered that their detentions were going to be nothing as they had imagined.

"-Right. And I will be checking in on Mr Lupin to ensure that you have most definately apologised and that the pair of you are not lying-".

"-We wouldn't lie to you Professor-", smiled Potter.

"-I believe that even less than the fact that the pair of you have apologised-", she returned bluntly, giving a short smile to Sirius.

******

Halloween was fast aproaching, and the students of Hogwarts awoke one absolutely freezing morning in October to find each of their houses and dorm rooms ordaned with different kinds halloween decorations, from cobwebs, to fake spiders and eyeballs, and most prominently, wolf claws. They were in every nook and every cranny, causing the entire place to feel very 'halloweeny'- and their classes had, most specifically for the first years, had become quite hallween orientated. In Transfiguration, Minerva had shown the students how to, theoretically, transfigure a carved Pumpkin into a goblet, and in Defence Against the Dark Arts, the Professor had spent the entire time telling them about ghosts and ghouls, which was not any fun for Peter, who cowered under the table, receiving a very blunt comment from Pandora . And one particular evening, which fell the eve before Halloween , Remus found himself staring at a decorative claw mark on the wall as Billius gathered all of the first years in the common room, which was unusally cluttered as great storm clouds rolled in towards the castle, bringing with them the end of October . "-Righty O'-", smiled Weasley, then pausing after a moment, "-Mckinnon , Longbottom and Mcdonald, if you are all going to stand there you may as well join in-". Daniel, Frank and Marlene exited the entrance to the dormitories, coming to stand in the middle of the room like a little army brigade of their own.

"-But Molly said this is only for first years-", stated Frank, who had quite 'Frankly' been a little jelous that they weren't going to be able to join in.

"-Well there's plenty for you lot to join in too- and you too Dorcas-", he nodded his head across the room to the girl as she skimmed through a book, raising an upside down thumb to him after a moment, not wanting to go anywhere near the second years.

"-Ugh- do you always have to read-", Mckinnon complained to her, to which she lowered her book, glaring over the top of her glasses.

"-Do you always have to wear your skirt so short-", she responded.

"-Ladies-" , paused Weasley, shaking his head at them, "- No arguing please-".

Marlene muttered something beneath her breath, sticking her tongue out at Dorcas. "- _Woah_ \- What do you think happend between them...I thought Marlene and Dorcas were friends -", whispered Lily to James, who was _honestly_ quite surprised that he had been the first person she'd spoken to.

"-I dunno-", responded Potter, "-They share a room dont they?- Maybe they had an arguement-".

"-Um- Billius-", Alice foled one leg over the other, "-What exactly are we meant to be doing?-".

"-Yeah-", agreed Mary, "-You haven't told us anything?-".

Weasley then gave them a cheery smile. "-You lot are going to be hunting for sweets. Theres a lot of them hiding around this room, and you can thank good old McGonagall for that-".

"-Oh!-", Lily beamed , clapping her hands exitedly, "-Like an Easter hunt?-". And everyone else gave her a rather odd look, apart from Remus, who finally turned away from the claw marks to pay attention, shifting in his seat.

"-Kind of-", smiled Billius, ignoring the other confused Witches and Wizards, "-It was a tradition made by Ted Tonks-".

"-Ted Tonks-", Sirius then scoffed, knowing that name all too well. It was a name that may as well have been a curse upon his family. Yet... he didn't have much to say upon the matter. Actually...he didn't want to say much upon it at all ."-But wasn't he in Hufflepuff?-".

"-How do you know who Ted Tonks is?-", wondered Daniel, having had the pleasure to have been in school at the same time as him.

"-I am a Black-", he reminded to th boy , which made Billius look a little weary.

"- _Anyway_ \- ", Weasley quickly changed the Subject, "-you lot can choose to work alone or in groups-". He then counted heads. "-Personally I'd recommend groups of two, then nobody will be alone-".

"-Then I'm with Ali-", stated Daniel with a smile, to which Frank gave him a quick glare.

"-That would be nice-", returned Fortescue kindly, pleased that she had been his first choice.

"-Then I-I'll be with....Mary-", blurted Peter, half expecting her to reject him.

"-Oh yes- that should be fun-", she smiled at the boy with her dimples seeming to get even deeper, to which Sirius mimicked the girl, making James chuckle a little.

Lily then frowned , looking a little left out. All of the girls had been chosen. Yet there was one boy other than the girls that she would have had no complaint in pairing himself up with. Remus. And she had been just about to announce her pairing with him , when the strangest of things occured."-And i'll go with Evans-", stated James, to which she gave him a surprised look as he nudged her shoulder in a friendly way.

"-You'll, _what_ now?-", hissed Sirius, looking Lily up and down.

"-What?-", he chuckled, "-Am I not alowed to work with Evans ?-".

"-B-But what about me- I can't very well do it on my....", he whined, looking over his shoulder to Remus, "-Oh dear Salazaar-".

"-I'm with Frank-", then stated Marlene in an overly loud tone , to which Dorcas' shoulders seemed to seize for a moment. Yet she hadn't done it to startle Dorcas - she'd just done it to ensure that she wouldn't get stuck with Sirius. She would have rather jumped from the tower window than have to work with him.

"-Right then-", encouraged Billius, liking the pairs very much, "-Well, you have half an hour- and the person to get the most sweets gets five house points....maybe-".

"Sweet!-", Mary snatched Peters hand, "-Come on Pete-".

"-O-oH -Okay-", he squeaked as the rest of them set off, with Sirius and Remus awkwardly walking beside eachother as Weasley slipped over to the chair in which Dorcas sat on, coming to rest against the edge of the seat.

"-What's your Problem?-", he teased, leaning on her shoulder, "-You haven't looked this miserable since Molly told you off for flying to fast-". 

"-Marlene and her childishness-", she hissed back, scanning the page furiously.

"-What had 'Twiggy' done now?-", he took one of her curls, coming to twist it around his finger.

"-The little shit took my diary- thats what-". She glanced up to him earnestly. "-She knows Bill....". Weasley paused, coming to wear quite the concerned frown. 

"-So....-", Sirius droned, looking around at a particular clutter of books, "-Any clue where the sweets could be?-". Remus paused for a moment- scanning the room, before pointing to a rather clean spot without a flicker of hesitation. And Black was quite honestly surprised that Remus was willing to be paired with him and go along with the game....especially after what he did. He knew he wouldn't of.

"-There-".

Sirius furrowed his brows. "-No way- it looks un....". Remus smiled to him a little. "-That is ....quite smart actually-", he struggled out the words. And they crept towards he empty looking corner of the room, coming to look behind the table that sat there- yet all they found was dust and a little bit of mould. "-Or maybe you were wrong after all-".

"-I'm never wrong when it comes to sweets and things that I like -", Remus returned honestly .

"-Oh- really -", gasped Sirius sarcastically, "-Well I don't see any sweets, _Oh mighty_ sweet Seer-". He then watched as Remus thumped the table , and a bar of chocolate dropped to the ground with the cellotape that had been holding it flapping like a broken wing. "-What?....how did you- How did you know that was there?!-".

"-Told you- I'm never wrong -", returned Lupin, crouching a little to pick it up.

" _-Yeah- yeah_ \- you are just lucky -", responded Sirius with a hint of resent, knowing that _he_ would have never thought to have checked underneath the table, "-Are you secretly some type of chocolate whisperer, _Scarface_ -".

"-Why yes-", he returned, making a play of bringing the bar to his ear, "-what was that?- Sirius Black needs a haircut?-".

"- _Hey_ -", Sirius snatched the bar away , "-Just for that I will grow my hair longer than- than-". He pointed to Lily. "-Hers-".

"-Sure, Black-", he turned back towards the rest if the students , looking around the room before pointing again, "-I think there might be some over there-". And Sirius watched as the boys strong nose twitched a little in a very odd way, wrinkling his brows at it. What kind of person sniffed the air in such a manner? 

"-Right....-", he swiftly began to march across the room in the direction which Lupin had pointed, "-Well come on then-". Remus shook his head at him.

"-Marlene- Hey Marlene-", Frank ducked as she threw some books from a great pile, almost hitting him on the head a few times, "-Oh Godric-Ignore me then-". He turned with a huff, spotting Alice holding onto Daniels arm as they laughed, finding a small packet of sweets hidden behind a little clock on the mantle piece, just as a thickly binded hardback whacked into his crown. "-MARLENE MCKINNON!-". She finally paused, glaring up at him so that the confidence that he had put into his words dwindled down to almost nothing. "-What's your problem?-".

"-Dorcas shouted at me- thats my problem-", she glanced past him, being able to see Dorcas and Weasley talking.

"-And what did you do?-".

"-Nothing!...", she defended, looking a little caught out after a moment , "-Well....I did read her diary...".

"-Marlene-", Sighed Frank.

"-What?-It was just left on the side-", she lowered her voice, "- and I think that Dorcas....might fancy-". Mckinnon cocked her head to the pair sat together.

"-Weasley and Meadows?- ", Frank frowned, "- _Never._ Why would you think that?-".

"-Because there was a poem about someone in there-", she stated, "-I'm sure it was about Bill - who else could it be about?-".

"-Oi Evans-", Jamed waved lily over, climbing down onto his stomach to attempt to reach under a chair, but it was no use, his hands were too big, "-Do ya' think you could get it-". He sat back onto his knees, pointing at the glint of a wrapper.

"-I suppose so- But If your hands didn't fit how are mine supposed to-".

"-Because your hands are smaller than mine-", he raised his hand with his fingers sprawled, grabbing hers to place it against his, "-See-". It was true, Lily's hands were far smaller than James'- almost half the size actually.

"-Oh you're right-.....Well, budge over-", Lily clambered down onto all fours, easily grabbing two packets with no labels on the front, "-Got them-".

"-Nice one Evans-", smiled James as she threw him one, "-So you could be a Qudditch Captain and a cat burgualr, slipping your hands underneath doors and stuff -".

"-Don't be stupid-", she returned, standing up.

"-' _Dun' be stooo'ped_ -", mimicked Potter as he followed her motion.

"-I don't sound like that-".

"- _'Eye Dunn' Saw'nd li'ek The't_ '-". He hopped out of the way as the swatted for him. "-Okay, I'm sorry-". 

"-Yes-", she smiled at him, tucking her packet of sweets into the pocket of her little skirt, "-You should be-". And she turned away from him, flicking her hair as she did. 

"-Aye-Aye- Captain Evans-", he chuckled, pottering after her.


	29. Midget and Lanky

At the end of the Hunt, Sirius and Remus had ended up with the most sweets, being the winners, which Marlene took the time to complain about. And they all stayed down stairs chattering for a little while after, with Dorcas and Marlene still keeping a grand distance between them, before it got quite late, and the first year boys, including a shifty handed James ,who continually tried to sneak away one of Sirius' sweets, and a very smiley Peter made their way up to the dorm room to share their bounty, coming to sit onto their beds that creaked and groaned with every movement. "-Its like your a Sniffer dog-", stated James after Sirius had explained to him how they had found so many sweets, shoving a fudge fly into his mouth as Remus took the wrapping from his chocolate bar, breaking off a piece of it. "-Me and Evans only found a couple-".

"-I'm surprised that you and _Evans_ seem so friendly-", replied Sirius a little begrudgingly , "-Not too long ago she didn't like you-".

"-Thats the same for you and Remus-", returned James, to which Lupin shook his head with a smirk.

"-But I didn't choose to be with him!-".

"-Yet if you hadn't-", James stated, "-You wouldn't have found as many sweets as you did-". Peter popped a gummy sweet into his gob, chewing loudly. "-You're welcome-".

"-I could have found just as many sweets on my own-", he argued, knowing full well that it was not true. There wasn't any way that he would have been able to find nearly as many as they did.

"-Yet I found them-", returned Remus, letting the chocolate rest on his tongue.

"-With me-", he argued.

"-Okay, okay- We've just gotten over you two despising eachother, can we not go there again, please-", begged James.

"-What do you mean?- I still despise him-", stated Sirius, folding his arms.

"-Really-", Remus placed the bar onto his lap, "-And why is that?-".

"-Well- don't you 'despise' me too-", he returned as though he had asked a very stupid question, "-I made you fall down the stairs- and scream like a little girl-".

"-I am _trying_ to forget about that-", stated Remus slowly , "-And, _no_ , I don't despise you Sirius. Why on earth would I despise you? I don't even know you well enough to despise you....And you can't despise someone you don't know -".

James then jumped up onto his bed, instantly changing the mood. "-Well lets fix that then, shall we, by getting to know a little bit more about eachother-". Peter smiled , throwing another sweet into his mouth. "-We all get one question each, and everyone has to answer it-".

"-Fine-", agreed Sirius, seeing oppertunity in James' idea , "-I'll go first then-". He sat up straight, clearing his throat in a regal manner. "-What is one secret about yourselves that nobody else knows - except for maybe your parents?-".

"-Really Sirius-", chuckled James, "-you're one to go straight for the worst question I see-".

"-You didn't make rules- means I can ask whatever I want- ", he gave a pointed look to Remus, "-Isn't that right Scarface-". And Lupin rolled his eyes, breaking off another piece of chocolate.

"-Well you start then-", stated James , to which Sirius seemed a little less confident, "-It's your question so you should answer -".

He suddenly regretted his choice in going first, not really having an answer to the question. He didn't really have a secret that nobody knew. You couldn't really keep those types of things in the House of Black. "-I- Uh....I've drunk half a bottle of fire whisky before-", he lied.

"-What?!-", squeaked Peter, "-That stuff stinks-".

"-You are such a liar Sirius-", argued James, not believing him .

"-I am not!- I have-".

"-Oh really?-", Remus rested back onto his palms, "-What did this Fire Whisky taste like?-".

"-Um...Fire-", he stated, giving him a smug look.

"-Fire?-", Lupin chuckled at the stupidity, "-How do _you_ know what fire tastes like?- actually, fire doesn't taste like anything, im sure-".

"- _Taste the pain_ -", blurted James with the deepest voice he could muster-and they laughed.

Sirius then slapped his hands down onto his bed. "-I have- I've had Fire whiskey-".

"-Okay-", Potter then responded in a disbeleiving way, jumping so that he landed on his bottom with a few sweets flying from the bed, "-Well.... maybe is should tell you my secret-". James suddenly seemed a lot less amused. He only had one secret of the kind that Sirius had been reffering too. One ...he was quite ashamed of. "-....I-uh....I wet the bed until I was....nine...and a half-".

Sirius immediately cackled. "-Oh Salazaar Potter- thats terrible- that's nearly ten years old-".

"-I had a weak bladder-", he argued, with his cheeks turning a little red as Remus threw another piece of chocolate into his mouth.

"-At least thats not as bad as mine-", stated Peter , looking as though he shrunk, "-I ...I have three nipples-". And Remus choked on his chocolate, having to beat at his chest so it would go down- to which Sirius wailed with laughter at the unexpected announcement.

"-Don't lie-", James, who actually seemed quite astonished, sat forwards, "-Show us- I don't beleive you-".

"-Erm...".

"-No- Peter-", coughed Remus, "-keep your robes on-".

"-Ahh- you're no fun Remus-", he chuckled as Sirius regained his composure, laughing a little every time he looked at Peter, "-And its your turn now-".

"-Oh-", Remus raised both of his brows in thought, not seeming very bothered by the question, "-I guess I can speak French- but thats not very exciting-".

"-You can't speak french-", Sirius returned, to which Lupin gave him a challenging look, "- _Tu es un menteur ....dégingandé_ (You are lying- lanky)-". James and Peter seemed impressed by how easily Sirius had slipped into French. "-What did I say?- give it a good guess-".

"-I don't want to guess anything-", returned Remus , "-Je.... vous.... ai compris.....nain (I understood you.....midget)-". Sirius glared at him, despite the fact that he had not seemed at all confident when speaking.

"-Can I ask a question next?-", butted in Peter as the tension between the pair rose steadily.

"-Of course mate-", smiled James, watching as Pettigrew opened his mouth with a small spark of rare confidence.

"-I-".

"-Who are you calling a midget!?-", eventually argued Sirius, cutting Peter off.

"-You-", returned Remus sternly , "-Go ahead Peter-".

"-I-".

"-Don't call me a _midgit_ -", growled Sirius.

"-Hey- Peter is trying to talk-", retorted Remus, "-You are really sensitive about your height- you know that -".

"-You would be too if most tables were nearly as tall as you-", stated Sirius honesty, directing the conversation back towards him. And Peter frowned, deciding to just continue eating his sweets.

"-I've never had that issue -", replied Remus.

"-Yeah- cause you've got long legs-", James pointed, "-Like a spider-".

"-O-or like Marlene-", added Pettigrew through a strawberry chew, to which the other three boys laughed , begining a rather long conversation on their heights, branching away from their initial point with smiles- even from the slightly annoyed Sirius. 


	30. An Unexpected Guest

Kreacher stumbled down the steps of Grimmauld place, rushing to the door past the diningroom to come to unlatch the lock resting just by the point that he nearly could not reach, swinging it open with a tug to reveal a slightly soggy Walburga ,who used her hat to cover the opening of a bag . She'd gone to diagon alley for a spot of shopping....and to clear her mind surrounded by delicate fabrics and shimmering jewles. Yet instead she had spent most of her time glaring at any passer by who dared to pay her any mind. "-M-Mistress-", he moved away as she stepped inside, coming to close the door tightly, "-Master Orion has just gone to his study- and Master Regulus is upstairs in his room-". He quickly took her bag, watching the woman shrug off her outer coat. "-And...we have a guest-". 

Walburga paused, glancing down the hall to the dining room from within which candle light could be seen, flickering ever so dimnly . "-Who would be here at this hour?-". 

"-Don't look so concerned-", the door slowly creaked open, revealing a slender, dark curled girl, in a modest, raven dress, "-Its only me-". 

"-Bellatrix?-", she fixed herself with a smile, "-I have not seen you in months-". 

"-Well- We all know why that is-". Walburga's smiled faded a little as the girl stepped out into the hall, matching the womans gaze. Bellatrix was the only one, other than Sirius, who could match the intensity of her stare. It was terrifying, yet entirely captivating. A true sign of the house of Black. "-And now, apparently , you are preventing mother from sending letters?....why is that?-". 

"-Its all in the best interests of this family- I assure you-", she made towards her, tapping the heel of her shoes against the checked floors, "-You understand that- don't you-". Walburga reached forwards, placing her palm on the girls bicep. "-I was sorry to see that you did not join this summer to celebrate Narcissa's engagement-". Bellatrix pulled away from her. 

"-To Lucius Malfoy?-", she scoffed, "-Hardly anything to celebrate there my dearest aunt. Its not a surprise the pair came together. Not in the slightest-". 

"-...Quite so-", carefully agreed Walburga, opening her hand towards the tapestry room, "-Would you like to join me for some wine-". 

"-Yes- actually-", returned the girl in a rushed way, following the woman into the room as Kreacher fumbled the bag to the ground. And he apparated ahead of them as they came to settle before the visage of the family tree, dragging over a tray of wine and two glasses towards them. "-It feels as though forever since I have been in this room-". 

"-Well- then-", Walburga reached out her palm, to which Kreacher shakily placed a glass of wine within it, "-You must remember that you are always welcome at Grimmauld place-".

Bellatrix sat back into her seat, folding one leg over the other. "-You see...I find that quite curious-". She took her glass from Kreacher, wrinkling her nose at him when he accidentally made eye contact. "-You welcome me with open arms and heavy graces....yet from what I have heard....you did not have the same courtisies for my mother-". 

Walburga tilted her head in a disbelieving manner, swilling her wine a little so that the liquid danced about the glass. "-I should not think so-", she sat up straight, "-I am wife to the head of the family- and so, I am required to show hospitality to all of its members-". 

The girl took a sip of her drink. "-Yet we all really know who's the head-". 

"-Yes-", she looked into her rather pointed eyes, "-My husband-". 

It was clear that Bellatrix did not believe her. "-Even still....your....kindredness...wouldn't have anything to do with the knowledge of my.....close...illegance...with _him...._ would it? _Dearest_ Aunt _-_ ". 

"-Well-", replied Walburga stiffly, "-It would be a lie to deny that such a fact would have ....an effect on our situation.....despite us having always been....closer....-". The woman looked to the elf from the corner of her eye, before leaning towards her niece. "-I wish to know more of him - of what he plans to do next-". 

"-To know that-", she tugged at her sleeve, revealing a mark that shifted and changed , with the bobbing of a skull, and wrapping of snakes body, "-You must promise yourself to him-". 

"-And how could I do such a thing-", she argued, "-If I do not know that his intentions are worthy-".

Bellatrix raised her nose to the woman. "-I can assure you that they are-". 

Walburga chuckled in a sinister way to this. It was such a naive thing for her to say. "-You , for one, should be well aware that assurance means nought in this family-". She curled her mouth distastefully. "-That mother of yours is very well aware of that factor- seeing as one of her daughters took off with a _Mudblood_ -". 

"-Well - though I hate to reinforce my mother-", argued Bellatrix with a glare, "-at least she raised three Slytherins-". Walburga's lips pressed together coldly. "-Yes....despite how hard you have attempted to conceal that little factor, the truth has still prevailed-". She sneered. "-Not so high and mighty are we now....dearest Aunt-". 

Mrs Black tightened her grasp about her glass so firmly that it could have very well cracked. She, truthfully, knew that Bellatrix hadn't arrived for some wine and a conversation. She'd almost forgotten how much the little girl...well...woman, had....changed. "-....Why have you come here...?-", she asked with a hiss, "-Has your mother sent you to attempt to phase me with spiteful words- because she will have to attempt far harder than this to have any result-". 

"-No-", stopped Bellatrix, placing her glass down on the tray, "-I came to deliver a letter....seeing as the sender is not 'allowed ' to do so themselves-". The girl stood, reaching into her pocket to bring out a sealed envelope, placing on the arm of her aunts chair. "-I'd suggest you put down that glass before taking a glance-". Walburga glared at the letter, not daring to touch it. "-I must go now-", the girl drew her hands about her neck, throwing a dark hood over her head so that it concealed half of her face, "- _He_ shall be wanting me and I wasted enough time awaiting your return-". And she turned away as ominously as she had appeared, peering at the bag sat in the hallway before making her way out of the front door, leaving her glass, as she often did, half empty. 

"-Mistress...-", spoke Kreacher , cowering as she tore away the seal, allowing the letter to unfold before her eyes.

_**Dearest Walburga-** _

_**It is not often that I get the oppertunity to gloat. It is not often that I get the oppertunity to sneer, and heckle. But I have decided that, well, I shall be the bigger person this time, as, after all....we are family...are we not. And we really shouldn't bicker or cause any unneccisary dissaray. So, I shall be better than you would if you were to be the one writing this letter on a matter that is of some concern. Concern that involves you. You see, my sister in law, I have come upon some frightful information that I believe any mother should know in regards to Sirius- and I do not speak of his most unfortunate placement. I speak of a matter of appearances , and , well, the respectability of our young heir.** _

_**It seems that, a short , while ago, sweet,harmless , perfect Sirius got himself into some trouble...** _

Despite her announcement otherwise, every word mocked Walburga. She could feel the grin behind them. The pride. The shame. And the worst part was that she came to believe every inkling of 'Knowledge' that Druella provided her with because she knew that she were not brave enough to cultivate such a tall tale. "-Elf-", Kreacher stood to attention, "-ensure that this is burned- and that My husband does not know of its existance-". She shoved the letter at his chest, her hand shaking with rage. 


	31. Halloween

The Day of Halloween began with a shriek of terror as a few second year Ravenclaw girls came sprinting into the great hall alongside a tall blonde boy, who looked far happier than the rest of them, daydreaming along as he ran- And they came to hide behind their classmates as the bowls on the table began to flip and turn, shooting their contents everywhere so that even Sirius ended up wearing his regular bowl of ceral as a hat, which got a good giggle from Lupin as he begrudingly pulled bits of Coco Hoots from his raven hair . "-What in gods name?- Hey!- Xenophilius-", the boy who had run in with the Ravenclaw girls turned distantly around to Billius, bouncing his way towards the destroyed table as the chaos ensued behind him, with the Caretaker hobbling his way into hall -and when Xenophilius reached the Gryffindoor's he almost seemed as though he was looking through Weasley, rather than at him. "-Is it Peeves causing this mess?-". Sirius smirked to James, and James to him. Yet Peter seemed to hide himself a little, afraid the spirit would appear out of nowhere and startle him.

"-Yes-", he spoke with an Irish twang, giving a distant smile to Frank, who opened his eyes wide, shaking his head to the first years in a warning way, "-I think so. But It very well could be a Demiguise that had broken into the school.... Though I am not sure what buisness a Demiguise would have in the school, unless there was a possible event about to occur -". He gave a rather haunting glance to the Sirius, James and Peter which shook Pettigrew to the core.

"-W-Whats a Demiguise-", he spoke shakily , to which Longbottom groaned, hitting his head down on the table. There was one thing that nobody did, except for Billius and Peter it seemed, and that was ask Xenophilius Lovegood questions. He was like a leech, attaching himself to anything that peaked his interest.

"-Why, its a creature that turnes invisible and predicts the most likely future-", a bit of life seemed to come to his...well...lifeless sort of eyes, "- But its nowhere nearly as powerful as-".

"-Xenophilius-", spoke Dorcas, having been the first Gryffindoor to feel the brunt of Peeves' attack, and was very clearly not in the mood for a lecture on some kind of fantastical beast , "-Thank you for your input, but can you leave now -".

"-Oh dear-", he suddenly climbed up onto the table, leaning uncomfortably close to Dorcas so that the steam from his breath clouded her glasses, "-You seem troubled. You can see it in your eyes......Your sad..... Did someone hurt you?-". She looked to Billius for aid. "-Or maybe you are confused....Wrackspurts most likely. Would you like to know what a wrack-". Yet he wasn't able to finish as two arms wrapped around his slender torso.

"-Right Kid-", Billius siezed him backwards, placing him on the ground, "-I think its better to leave Dorcas alone-".

"-But-".

"-Lovegood-", he warned, nodding his head towards the Ravenclaw table.

"-Oh...Sorry Billius- Sometimes I get bit carried away with my words...".

"-No need to say sorry-", he replied kindly, encouraging him with a pat on the arm.

Marlene nudged Frank, to which he shook his head. "-You're still not right-". She'd done the same motion every time Billius had even looked at Dorcas that morning, trying to push her point further.

"-Not right about what?-", wondered James, having overheard them whilst being swatted away after attempting to take a bit of cereal out of Sirius' hair.

"-Marlene- No-", stopped Frank as she covered one side of her face, with James, Sirius and Peter leaning towards them. And even Remus, who had been sitting near to the end of the table seemed to be listening in too. "-Mars-".

"-I think that-", she cocked her head to them, "-Dorcas likes Billius- or maybe they like eachother- or _maybe_ they're already together and we just don't know-".

"-What?-", scoffed James, glancing to them as Weasley placed his palm on her wrist, "-Oh..".

"-See!-", she hissed, "-It would make sense too, I mean, they're always together-".

"-But me and James are always together-", offered Sirius.

"-You saying you fancy me Black-", James smirked ,to which Black elbowed him. "-I'm joking-".

"-Though....they could be courting or something-", Sirius inspected further, ignoring Potters comment , "-He held her wrist...tenderly-". He stuck his tongue out at the word. 

Marlene snorted. "-What on earth does 'courting' mean?-".

"- _Courting_ -". Sirius couldn't believe that they had not a clue of what it was. He was sure that everyone courted....or was forced to start courting one time or another. "- The window of time in which a _true_ gentle-wizard attempts to win the hand of the one whome they ...desire ...before an engagement. My cousin and Lucius courted for years-", they all stared at him rather blankly.

"-My mums not even married-", chuckled Marlene, "-And in the years she was with my dad I'm sure she was doing anything but 'courting'-".

"-But if she didn't court and then mary....", he wrinkled his brows, "-then that means you're a bastard and your mums a....well....A whore-".

Frank froze, feeling a great silence descend upon them- And he took Marlene by the arm before she could even think to move. "-Calm down Mars-". Yet her body twitching was an indication that she was not calming down, not in the slightest.

"-You take that back right now Sirius Black-", she growled rather more passionately than usual , "-My Mum is not a 'whore'-".Peter slipped down into his robes as though she had been talking to him.

"-Its just a word -", responded Sirius, not seeing why she was getting so upset- to which Remus rolled his eyes at his clear hypocricy.

"-Well some words-", she lectured, "-mean _more_ than others-".

"-You can't just say things like that mate-", explained James further to Sirius' confusion.

"-Well then what should I say?-", he looked to Potter for help as Marlene swatted Frank off of her.

"-Nothing if you have nothing productive or good to say - Nothing at all-", she pointed at him with her spoon- Yet Longbottom was surprised that she hadn't already attempted to throw it through his head. "-Look Sirius. I recon' you think that you can say things like that because your perfect Pureblood family think they can- but you can't. Its horrible and rude- not to mention part of old thoughts that are thankfully begining to dissapear. My Mum gets that enough from your lot when they see her in the Diagon - I don't need to hear it from you too-". Sirius could tell that Marlene was actually upset- and that made him re-think his choice of words...only a little. Mckinnon then examined him for a moment, wearing quite the sincere expression. "....Look... I don't want to have a problem with you Sirius....really, I don't.... But you need to learn that there is some things that you cannot say- It is nineteen-seventy-one, not eighteen-twenty. If you keep talking like that people will start thinking that your a ....Bad person...-". 

Sirius glared at her, having just been about to send a snarky remark back at the blonde until the words caught themselves in his throat, tangling up so that they would not budge as he watched Marlene stand, taking what was left of her breakfast as far away from Black as she could. And Sirius felt in that moment....what he supposed ...or knew deep down in the depths of his mind...was a bit of guilt. It was a feeling he was starting to come to discover more and more. He hated it. He wished that he'd never have to feel it again. "-Black-", Longbottom then spoke, wiping some ceral away so that he could rest his arm on the table, "-You alright?-".

"-I- Uh....Yes...-". He sighed, trying to shake away the guilt. "-Everything here is....a bit different from my normal life....I keep on getting told off for the things I say...when I've never been told off for them before-". 

"-Sirius-", Remus then drew the attention of the table to himself as he shifted towards them, yet again seeming very, very tired, "-How do you feel when I call you a midget, or racist-". Black glared at him. "-I'll take that as you being annoyed-".

"-Thats what Marlene just felt like....well probably worse, when you just spoke about her and her Mother-". Sirius frowned. "-And how Evans probably feels every time you call her _'Muggleborn'_. In the way you say it you may as well call her an 'M' word-".

"-Then....". Sirius mustered up the greatest lack of....'Black'- ness pride he could- which was an alien feeling. He supposed that it was time he did some learning, seeing as he was definately going to be a permanent Gryffindoor. Yet he didn't see it as admitting to his faults, more as adapting to his surroundings. Like when his mother would talk with the Ministers at the winter ball. She would always put on this kind, timid voice that was a bit squeaky, doing her best to amuse them with little jests. "- How do I not....upset people?...I mean....What things shouldn't I say...or do-". 

"-Lupin-", then smirked Frank, glad to see a slight bit of maturity in Sirius yet , "-Gimme some paper-".

After recieving the paper, he began writing down a guideline of all the things that Sirius should and shouldn't say or do , passing it to him afterwards- And Black spent the entire day until the begining of the Halloween feast re-reading it , deciding at one point to add some annotations of his own, which he assured himself that he would use as they sat down at the Gryffindoor table again, which was now crowded with lit pupkins and mountains of sweets that Peter practically dove at as everyone munched away at their food ,with the Professors watching over them from the head table as Albus Dumbledore sat in the centre, taking in the cheer of the evening as he often did. Halloween was one of the greater times of the year at Hogwarts, hosting two events. One was the Halloween Feast, in which all of the students attended - and the other was the Death day party, which encouraged the ghosts of Hogwarts to show themselves all together, which lead to Peter screaming as a head burst out of the bowl of sweets he had been grabbing for. "-Hello nearly headless nick-", smiled Billius to the man as the rest of his body emerged into veiw, coming to hover over their table.

"-Hello Mr Weasley-", he greeted courtily, to which Lily narrowed her eyes in confusion as Pettigew cowered.

"-Nearly headless?- How can you be nearly headless?-". And she regretted her question when he tilted his head, revealing a severed neck that looked rather horrible.

"-Thats so cool-", smirked James, looking around the room excitedly. He'd never seen somewhere look so festive, not even the Potter home- and Sirius joined him, awed by it all. He'd been so taken in by the childish glee of the evening that all of his worrys and thoughts other than those that were of the present had seemed to leave his head- And at one point he had waved for a floating pumpkin, almost hitting Hagrid as he passed by.

"-Wa'ch it ther'-", he stated, fixing his keys to his hip -to which Sirius lowered his arm. It was the first time he had seen the man from the station all year - and he was surprised especially to see him inside of the school during the term . He'd thought a grounds keeper would....well...remain on the grounds. 

"-Hi Hagrid-", smiled James, having recalled his name upon spotting him.

"-Hullo' James -", he returned with a smile that he'd not shared for Sirius, "-Great ter' see ya'-".

"-You too-", Potter beamed.

"-Hope ye've settled in alright-", he glanced across the table to Remus who seemed as though he could barely keep his head up, "-heard about yer' incident earlier this month-".

"-Oh-", James replied, sounding a little dishearted, "-Don't worry- we both apologised to Remus-".

"-Right-", he replied with a disbeliving look to Sirius, before making his way across the room to greet Dumbledore.

"-Whats his problem with me?-", then frowned Sirius to Potter.

"-I- I dunno'-", replied James, taking a huge gummy spider up from one of the bowls, "-Maybe he went to school with your Mum?-".

"-Maybe-", droned Sirius, before sharply turning to Lily, "-Ginger- pass me a fudge fly would you-". She turned to stare at him in a slightly confused way, not knowing whether to ignore him or acknowledge him. "-What?-".

She spotted James giving her a smile, deciding to respond. "-So I'm not 'Muggleborn' anymore - I'm _Ginger_ -". Sirius nodded quickly.

"-Its more fitting- no?-". And After a moment Lily reached for the bowl of Fudge flies, bringing it to Sirius- and he took out a handful, stuffing a couple into his mouth. "-These are really good-".

"-All of its good-", argued James, to which Peter, who hadn't stopped shovelling the treats into his mouth, agreed as Sirius watched Remus' head sink lower as though he were going to fall asleep. "-Seems like someone's not in the Holiday spirit-". 

Sirius narrowed his eyes, before reaching into the bowl of fudge flies again- this time coming to lob one across the table so that it slapped against Remus' cheek. And his lips turned up into an amused smile as Lupin raised his head, cocking a brow at him. "-Really Black?-". 

"-I have to admit- you have good aim-", chuckled James, knowing that he would have missed Remus completely, "- Hey Lupin- whats the matter-". 

He took a sharp breath , sitting up straight. "-Nothing is the matter-". 

"-Really-", Sirius leaned forwards, "- You don't look like it-". 

"-Well-Look who's staring now-", he retorted a little snappily, "-Am I that handsome, Black?-". 

Sirius pulled quite the appauled face, folding his arms to his chest. "-Well I _apologise_ for trying to make conversation-", he replied sarcastically.

"-You seem to be apologising for a lot-", returned Lupin, wrinkling his nose after catching a wiff of some pumpkin juice, "-We should change your name to Sorry....Sorry...-". Remus suddenly hopped up from the table, coming to sprint from the hall whilst covering his mouth. And Minerva stood just as quickly as he had, being pulled back into her seat carefully by Dumbledore. 

"-Albus-", she returned quickly, to which the man shook his head. 

"-Poppy-", he smiled to Madame Pomfrey who already placed her cutlery down with a sigh, "-Please attend to Mr Lupin-". 

"-Did you see how fast that one ran away from that cousin of yours -", Mulciber sneered through a mouthful of sweets to Narcissa's glare, before looking to Severus who sat on the other side of Lucius, "-I don't know how you can stand being around that disgrace, Snape-". He then narrowed his eyes tauntingly . "-But then again, you and that _Mudblood_ seem close-". Severus had been just about to argue back to him when Lucius decided to join the conversation. 

"-Ah yes. That reminds me-", his words were elogent, hiding his dislike, "-You and the Muggleborn girl. Is there much between you?Courting?-". Mulciber stuck out his tongue to the boy who sat beside him, laughing at the idea.

Severus turned red, not wanting to seem...well...pathetic in front of the elder Slytherins. Esepcially not after they had, again, invited him to dine with them. "-No-No- Me and Lily are just friends....".

Lucius didn't much understand such an answer, and on the other hand, didn't much care. "-Well then- They're just friends-", he rolled his eyes grandly, "-How lovely-". 

"-Oh no-", frowned Lily, worried about Remus, "-Do you think he ate too many sweets?-". 

"-Probably-", returned Alice, who had shifted along the table.

Yet Sirius found his eyes upon Remus' plate, seeing that it was still covered in sweets that he had not dared to touch. It was odd. 


	32. Novembers start

"-Mother-", Regulus' hand lingered quitely in the shadowed hallway outside of the tapestry room as he waited there in his nightrobes , seeming weary of his mothers cynical glare at the spot in which her son sat amongst a sea of noble names. A few of which bore no face attached. And she stroked her wand as she watched as though petting a cat, saying nothing at all. She was well and truely thinking. And one thing Walburga Black hated was to be pestered whilst thinking. This was made ever more clear by the look she gave to Regulus w,hich was unusal for her. It could be said that Regulus was her favorite son. No....he was her favorite son, especially after the most recent developments. He'd not yet brought any inkling of shame upon her and that was a feat that she should have been most proud of. "-May I speak...with you-".

"-What is it?-", she fixed herself in her seat, placing her wand in the space between her and the arm of her chair, "-There is a lot on my mind at the moment ,my son, and I would _hate_ to loose my train of thought-".

Regulus stepped into the dim glow of the room, looking ever more like Sirius. His hair had even grown to the length that Sirius' had been when he'd gone off to Hogwarts- And Walburga couldn't stand to look at him in that way. Their only distinguishing features were the colour of their eyes and nose shapes. Sirius' were a piercing blue and Regulus' were a deep brown, shadoweded by unshapely brows and long raven lashes. "-Has....Sirius written....". Walburga's expression fell, and Regulus immediately regretted his question. Yet he was sure by that point that his letter to him would have arrived. So he was sure that Sirius would have replied...or at least tried to. "-I-I am sorry mother.....-". 

"-.....Do not apologise....-", she then slowly returned, "-You are only a boy....of course you should be wondering about your brother....". He watched as Walburga stood, standing stiffened much like a menacing sort of statue - her presence overwhelming. And the calmness within her words put him entirely on edge. "-I have actually been meaning to talk to you- about Sirius - to discuss what will be happening when he returns home-". Regulus was very clearly puzzled, and so, she continued. "- You shall not speak with him.... and you shall not even look at him without my say so-". 

"-B-But-", Regulus breathed, "-Why?.....He only got into Gryffindoor... maybe he has been doing good in school....-". Sirius had to be doing well at Hogwarts. He had to be keeping appearances. He had to be....behaving. He promised. 

"-I have no need to answer 'why's' or acknowledge buts-", she growled, letting her calmness flutter away , "-I am your mother- and if I tell you an instruction I _expect_ you to follow it- do you understand Regulus-". 

"-But-". 

"-No. Buts!-". Regulus stepped back a little, shrinking into the darkness . She'd never shouted at him in such a way before. "-I already have one son who cannot behave - I do not require two-". His palm met the cuff of his sleeve as he began tugging at it, looking down to the floor. 

He'd wanted to argue back at her, or proclaim that he knew that his brother was behaving. Knew that he was doing all he could to do well and not dissapoint the family. But he also knew Sirius...probably more than any one else on earth. And he slowly began to realise that....there was a good chance....Sirius had not been keeping his promise at all,"-Yes-". 

"-Yes ,what-". 

"-Yes-", he glared up at her from beneath his eyebrows, conflicted, "-Mother-". 

////////////////

It was November second, and night had already descended upon Hogwarts castle, with most of the students sleeping soundly in their beds as soft rain pattered down upon the thin windows, making a quiet crackling sound. And Sirius laid awake in bed, staring at the desk sat beside the door, watching as the quill that sat atop it dripped onto the wooden surface , seeping into the surface. He'd been tempted to try and write a letter home, but had stopped himself. If there was a chance that his parents werent as dissapointed in him as he had believed.....that the family wasn't as dissapointed in him , then there would have been no good in him writing a letter , that was for sure. Plus there wasn't any way of him sneaking to the Owlery to borrow an owl in the middle of the night, and Kreacher wouldn't respond to his call . So Sirius frowned. He'd kept on thinking about the letter Regulus had written him. It was one of the best things that had happened since he'd gotten to Hogwarts, but that bad feeling that came with it weighed down his joy, enrupturing his mind as it had many times before in the dark silence of night. And he'd almost forgotten that it was his birthday the next day a good few times. 

Not that it was of much importance. 

The only birthdays that mattered in the _House of Black_ were your thirteenth, first and seventeenth. The thirteenth birthday was when you usally looked to become engaged as a boy , which was an idea, now Sirius thought on it, that sounded horrible. He never thought about the fact that he would be, in just a few minuets time ( he had guessed from the height of the near full moon) a year closer to betrothal. That was like being a year closer to getting stuck in Azkaban. Marriage seemed miserable, if he were to have taken his mother and father as an example. They sometimes hated eachother like enemies forced together.-And as he pondered, a large creak came from the bed across from him, followed by the shifting of a blanket. 

An,"-Ow-Ow-", then followed it, with a sore hiss- And Sirius recognised it as Remus' voice. After sprinting from the Great Hall the night of the feast, he'd returned to the dorms before everyone else and was fast asleep by the time they returned- and the following days had been so full of lessons and bustling about that Sirius had almost neglected to recall the event. And he had just been about to sit up when he paused. "-Godric...-". Then , after a moment, he sunk further into his blanket, watching as the boy came into veiw before wrapping his hand carefully around the door handle as Sirius shifted , shutting his eyes quickly when Remus turned to inspect him for a moment, before stepping out of the door. 

Black then, in a spurt of curiousity, pulled the covers off of himself, creeping to the cracked open door and peering out into the stairs, watching as Remus' shadow dissapeard from sight. And he followed him to the walkway , spotting Lupin emerge below him in the entryway, carefully crossing the room to make his way out of the portrait- to which Black narrowed his eyes at him, coming to stand back into the shadows as Lupin paused for a moment, before continuing his journey. 

"-Where on earth are you going....?-". Sirius shuddered as a great chill hit his bare toes. 

He had been half temped to follow him, but he didn't really want to be walking through the castle alone in the middle of the night. He didn't know his way and would have found it easy to get lost. So he was just left wondering.

A state that he found was worse than guilt.

////////

"-Wheres Remus?-", asked James, having followed Sirius' strange glare to the seat at the Gryffindoor table in which the boy usually sat. He probably wouldn't have noticed he had dissapeared again, if not for Black looking so interested in the empty space. Sirius had been very silent for the entire morning, and Potter had been spending a great deal of time attempting to work out why. He'd been so....'cheerful' recently that the sudden jump back to 'September Sirius' , as Peter had so kindly called it, was odd. "-Sirius-", he clapped.

"-Oh - Sorry James-", he returned picking up his spoon from his bowl of cereal as both Peter and Potter blinked at him. He'd called him 'James' and apologised in the same scentance. 

"-Okay- now I'm really worried-", he made a motion to place his hand on Sirius's shoulder, to which the boy shifted away, "-Whats the matter?-".

Sirius placed his spoon back in his bowl, looking around as everyone chattered about them. He supposed that he should have told Potter. Maybe he knew something that Sirius didn't. "-I....I saw Remus leave the dorm in the middle of the night- and he seemed like he was in pain-", Sirius replied as James lowered his arm, glancing to Peter who seemed as bewildered as him, "-He was properly creeping out- Like he was going to be in trouble if he got caught...it was weird-".

"-T-That would explain why he isn't here-", stated Peter quietly, to which Black nodded.

"-Wait- What were you doing awake really late last night?-", wondered James, now noticing the bags that had appeared beneath Blacks eyes.

"-I...was thinking about writing home- but In the end I couldn't be bothered-", he semi- lied, to which it looked as though a lightbulb illuminated in Potters eyes, "-What?-".

"-Sirius!- Its your Birthday-", he exclaimed, "-I forgot- i'm so sorry -".

"-Y-yeah-", agreed Peter, to which Sirius shrugged, not looking any more enthused than he had before.

"-Why didn't you tell us?-".

He furrowed his brows. "-My birthday isn't a big deal-".

"-Isn't a big deal?-", James seemed shocked, "-Your the first out of us thats Twelve-".

"-Exactly -I'm only Twelve-", chuckled Sirius, "-It doesn't matter much-".

"-Every birthday matters-", lectured Potter, "-Its the begining of another year of your life - one that you can make better than the last - my dad says that-".

"-Your dad sounds _crazy_ -", returned Sirius.

"-My dad is actually very wize-", argued Potter defiantly , "-Though he is very clumsy and forgetful . He always looses his wand- can you beleive that- A wizard always loosing his wand?".

Sirius shook his head. "-thats unconventional-".

"-I know-", smirked Potter, picking up a piece of toast from the plate in front of him, "-But that what makes him amazing-".

/////

"-Righty O' first years-", spoke Madame Hooch, giving a slightly pointed glare to Sirius and James as they held their brooms above the wet grass. Luckily for them the rain , which had followed the start of the month, had given in, meaning that they could do some flying, which Potter and Black were both equally excited for. And Severus glared at Sirius, being under Lily's watchfull eye. He'd had half the temptation to hex him again for the fun of it, yet he knew all it would do was upset Evans, and that was something that he would not allow. "-Today we are going to be practicing turns and inclines on the broom. You will be flying low to the ground, so do not worry about falling, it isn't that far of a distance. And, if shown by Mr Blacks fall earlier this term from a far greater hight, you will be absolutely fine if you were to fall-".

"-Professor are you sure he's fine?-", blurted James, shivering into his robes, "-I think he knocked his brain a bit-".

"-I'm smarter than you-", he argued to Potter.

"-Yeah?- Prove it then-".

"- _Boys_ -", paused Madame Hooch, having to take a breath to calm herself, "-Anyhow- you all may get onto your brooms- and Mr Pettigrew-". Peter raised his head. "-Actually try this time-".

Sirius and James easily hopped onto their brooms, followed by Alice, Mary and Peter , who hugged it with all of his might. And Lily then more carefully got on, wobbling a bit. "-Careful Evans-", called James with a smile.

"-I-I don't know how you are so confident on this thing-", she wiggled, almost slipping off.

"-You are holding it wrong-", he explained, "-Put your hands further apart-". Lily struggled, slipping from the broom onto her bottom . "-Oh no-".

"-Dearie me-", sighed Professor Hooch, watching as Snape rushed to help Lily to her feet, "-Potter- please show Evans the correct hand placement-". He pointed to himself in a shocked way. "-Yes you-".

" _-OOh_ -", taunted Sirius, "-Go help Evans-".

"-Shove off Black-", he returned , hopping off of his broom to Lilys side- to which he received a great glare from Snape. "-Hello Severus-".

"-James-", he returned begrudgingly.

"-Right- How do I do this?-", spoke Lily, hopping back onto the broom, "-What's the placement?-".

"-Here, gimme' your right hand-". Severus watched as Lily gave her hand to James, and he directed it into the right position, feeling a great spurt of jelousy well up within him. And so he leapt on his broom in a flurry of fury, slipping straight off of the other side, to which Sirius cackled, nearly toppling to the ground himself.

"-Sev-", worried Lily from atop her broom, "-Are you okay?-".

His cheeks turned bright red. "-Fine-". He glared at Sirius. "-What are you laughing at _Black_?-".

"-Your greasy self-", he returned.

"-Mr Black-", warned Madame Hooch, "-That is entirely unneccisary-".

After everyone had mounted their brooms, and Sirius had teased James enough for helping Lily, Madam Hooch instructed them to move forwards, teaching them from the ground how to lean into their different positions, leading to Peter spinning around in circles at one point, knocking Mary off of her broom, who laughed, helping him to stop spinning. And Severus' broom shuddered and shook endlessly, looking very much as though it wanted to escape his grasp. "-Not even the broom wants to touch Snape-", smirked James, to which Sirius laughed.

"-Except for Lily- who you touched!-", he swished away from James, "-Ew- You've got the grease infection-".

"-Oh yeah-", Potter leaned in towards Sirius, attempting to wipe his hand on his robes as Black swatted him away.

"-Boys!-", groaned Madame Hooch as the rest of the class turned to watch them, seeing Black shoot of with his feet dangling in the grass as James darted after him.

"-Woah-", gasped Alice, "-Professor look how fast they're going-".

"-Do not encourage this behaviour Miss Fortescue-", she warned, despite seeming quite impressed herself. Sirius was small and fast- and James, who was quite taller, knew how to use his height to his advantage. "-Boys!- Stop!-". Sirius tugged up the front of his broom abruptly, causing James to crash into the back of him-and both of them fell into the grass in a ball of Gryffindoor, landing right in a puddle. "-Oh for heavens sake-".

"-Ewww-", Sirius jumped up , "-My hair-".

"-Your hair?-", laughed James, "-What about your robes?-". They both watched as the minimal light provided by the cloudy sky was blocked out by the Silhouette of Hooch, to which they froze. "-Professor...-", the boy smiled , "-Wanna' join us for a swim?-". And Sirius made a sound much like a dying mule, having to turn around to conceal his laughter.

It was safe to say that the woman did not want to join them for a swim, and shared the same expression as Minerva bore when told why she was faced with two sopping wet Gryffindoors who giggled like giddy school girls. "-Thank you Rolanda-", she returned to the woman, glaring at Sirius, who just ended up laughing even harder, "-And what was it that you remarked to Madame Hooch ,Mr Potter-".

"-Wanna' join us for a swim?-", he replied, struggling a little. 

Minerva paused for a moment, appearing as though she bit the insides of her mouth. "-Right-", she folded her hands on her desk, "-Well- seeing as I cannot give you more detentions- you will be spending your friday evening after class cleaning brooms-". The two boys, now no longer amused, groaned and grumbled. "-You may now leave- ". Madame Hooch the led them out with their shoes squelching on the ground, and as soon as the door closed, Minervas mouth turned into a helpless smile as she let out what could have almost been considered a laugh. 

"- _Join us for a swim-_ ", she muttered to herself, taking a piece of paper from a pile beside her, "-Well he is most definately Charlus' son-". 


	33. Swapping

"-Good morning class-", Minerva stood before her students , folding her hands over her wand with a pestered sort of look , "-Class!-". All of the first years hovered over the small cages that sat upon their desks, with Peter hiding beneath his, staying out of the view of a small mouse that span around in circles within it, squeaking fearfully at the prying eyes around it. "-Mr Black-", Sirius paused, having been prodding at the mouse with the tip of his wand, "-That behaviour is not appropriate at all-".

"-This is so cruel-", frowned Alice to Mary, placing a finger within the cage to stroke the creatures head in a kindred way as it shied away from her, "-Imagine how it must be feeling-". 

"-Its only a mouse Alice-", replied Mary with a chuckle. 

"-But look into it's eyes-", then added Lily, agreeing with Alice, "-The poor thing is terrified-". 

"-I would be too If I saw your big red head staring at me-", commented an overhearing Sirius, receiving quite the glare. 

"-At least I am not prodding at my mouse-", she returned snappily, then turning her attention to James, "-And theres dirt on your glasses- right there-". 

"-What?-", he removed them from his face, spotting a speck in the corner, "-Oh- thanks Evans-". 

"- _Thanks Evans_ -", mimicked Sirius, chuckling as James elbowed him. 

"-FIRST YEAR!-", Minerva called a huff, watching as they all stood to attention, "-Finally-". She often loathed her First year lessons because it seemed that her entire class would suddenly become hard of hearing, and so, put themselves at risk of making mistakes. "-Now- You are probably all wondering why there are mice scattered around the classroom. Well, today we are a going to be attempting a spell in which the caster can turn Mice to snuffboxes-". 

"-Wait...We aren't really going to cast at the mouse-", worried Lily, not wanting to hurt the creature.

"-Yes- really-", returned Minerva, to which Evans furrowed her brows, sinking into her seat. She really didn't try and turn the mouse into anything. "-Now- If you could all produce your wands-". James examined Lily as she gave a weak, almost sad smile to the caged creature, sympathising with it- And he frowned, suddenly feeling a strange twinge of what he could only describe as...purpose.

"-Hey Sirius-", Potter then whispered as Minerva continued to explain to the class, keeping as quiet as he could, "-How do you unlock things?-". 

Sirius looked at the boy as though he were stupid. "-With a key-". 

"-No- I mean-", he leaned towards him, "-Magically-". And Black glanced to Evans, then back at James with a disbelieving look. "-What- she doesn't want to do it-".

"-And thats your problem , because?-". 

James frowned, realising that maybe he shouldn't have got himself involved. If he released the mouse there was a chance that he could have gotten Lily in trouble- and well, that would have made him feel quite bad. "-You're right- Never mind-". 

"-Now-", Minerva acted out her words, "-You must raise your wand -". The students followed her instruction. "- Then you must say, clearly :' _Mures arca archa_ ', and flick your wand like so-", she settled her arm as they began to cast at the mice, with some of the students struggling to speak the words. Sirius was the first one to transform his mouse into an...almost formed snuffbox, if not for the tail attached to the end that frantically wavered about. And the reluctant Alice was second to manage a slight transfiguration, giving the once rather sweet creatures unfortunate appearance her condolances. However Evans lowered her wand slowly- a motion that Minerva took great notice of. "-Miss Evans-". 

"-Professor....I can't-", she exclaimed, "-Its alive....what If I hurt it?-". 

"-This spell is entirely harmless-", the Professor assured, before turning her attention towards Mary, who's half Snuffbox- half mouse, began to run into the sides of its cage. But Lily still didn't believe that it couldn't have harmed the mouse in the slightest. She knew that she wouldn't have appreciated being suddenly turned into a snuffbox by a giant- and it must have been uncomfortable and terrifying too. 

James then looked to his transfigured Mouse, which had a lovely set of whiskers and a nose at the front that seemed quite comical to him, before he sighed. "-Oi- Evans-". 

Lily looked over her shoulder, watching as he held out his cage to her. "What are you doing?-". 

"-We can swap em'-", he whispered, quickly making sure that Minerva was not looking, "-Then you don't have to cast the spell-". 

"-What?-". Lily seemed surprised by the gesture. "-A-Are you sure?-". 

James nodded, pushing the cage further towards her until she eventually took it, swapping it with her own- and Sirius shook his head as James reeled it back in. "-You are unbelievable-". 

"-No-", he returned with a short smile, "-I'm just a nice person- _Mures arca archa_ -".

When everyone finally transfigured their mice, Minerva began her way around the tables, inspecting each of the creatures very closely ; taking note of each little detail. And she took quite the long examination of the Mouse that James had given Lily. "-Well I must say, Miss Evans-", she took a short look over to Potter , who tried to seem as nonchalant as possible, hoping that she wouldn't notice the swap. "-You appear to have produced the best transfiguration out of the entire class- very well done- two house points to Gryffindoor-". 

"-T-thank you Professor-", she replied a little guiltily, feeling bad that she had gotten the praise for James' spell. 

"-Ahh- I bet you are regretting that now-", teased Sirius. 

"-No-", lied Potter very obviously. 

"-She got all of your glory-", Black made his voice higher in a patronising way, "-You could have gotten those two house points yourself-". 

"-Okay- stop it now-", he hissed , watching as Lily turned to him with a small smile. It was one that the girl had never provided to him before - and a sight that he was glad he got to witness. The apples of her cheeks seemed to become greatly prominent, buldging out all a speckled and rosy. 

"-Thank you...James-", she breathed sweetly. 

"-I-Uh-", James' face flushed a little, "-You're welcome-". 

Sirius wrinkled his nose, entrely disgusted by the display. "-Salazaar give me strength-".

"-Mr Black?-", the boy suddenly perked up, coming to smile at Minerva, "-Well- I must say- I am surprised-". 

"- What can I say-", he returned cockily, waving his hand over the cage, "-I am a Black after all- and we are known for our brilliance in-". 

"-I am surprised-", she paused him, "-That you are the only student in this entire classroom who managed to still have a tail on your snuffbox-". The tail seemd to coil up as she spoke, like the one of a pig. 

"-W-well- thats just a design choice Professor-", he defended, making James, and even Peter laugh. 

"-Really-", she played along. 

"-Yes-", he returned, putting on more confidence than he usually had, "-It gives it more of a rustic...charm?-". 

"-Well, next time I would prefer if you did not hold design over technicality-", she replied with the hint of a smile. 

"-Right Professor-", affirmed Sirius, sniggering as she turned away.

////////////////

"-Rustic Charm?-", chuckled Frank, shaking his head at Sirius over the plate of sandwhiches between them, "-and she believed you?-". The first years, as they often did, had been recalling their class to their fellow Gryffindoors at Lunch, which was especially chilly that day. The air seemed to be unforgivingly crisp, nipping at all of their noses, which gave Sirius a reddish sort of ting, remniscant of when Remus had elbowed him- and he had been so caught up in the conversation that he didn't realise the boy hadn't returned. Nor did James, or Peter, who had shoved his arms inside of his robes so that it hung off of him like a huge cape.

"-I think she was more so going along with it-", replied Alice, who had seen the look on the Professors face when she turned around. It was somewhere between annoyed and amused.

"-Still-", Sirius replied, "-Surely I can't have been the only person in the class to have left the tail on-". He picked up a sandwhich. "-I mean I thought I was quite good at Transfiguration-", the boy sat up straight, "-Actually, I am good-". 

"-I recon you are _'good'_ at everything-", returned Potter through a mouth of bread. Sirius had been yet to state that he was bad at anything- and James doubted that such a thing would happen any time soon. It was hard enough getting an apology out of the boy.

"-Well you could have seemed good at Transfiguration today-", returned Sirius as Peter silently watched the two boys, not much wanting to involve himself in the conversation, "-But you had to be all 'nice' to Evans-". 

"-What?-", Alice looked between them, "-Wait... what did you do?-". 

"-He swapped their....Snuff....mice-", Sirius tried to find a word to describe the creatures that they had been making that lesson , "-And she got praised for it and all-". 

"-Really?-", Frank smirked as James looked down a little, seeming quite embarissed, "-Nice one Potter- very... _.chivalrous_ of you-". 

"-No its not-", snapped Sirius , "-It was embarassing. You swapping your creature with Snapes little fancy lady-". 

"-Fancy lady?-", Alice tittered , rasing a goblet of water , "-They are only friends, Sirius-". 

"-Like _Severus Snape_ could have friends-", hissed Black, shifting over as Billius sat beside him with a huff, causing all of the papers in his arms to spill out across the table. 

"-Oh Blimey-", he tiredly complained, coming to pick some of them up as Sirius snatched a paper to himself. 

"-What are these?-", he looked at the ancient little drawings and sqiggly handwriting, passing it to James after a moment. 

"-Old Qudditch try-out courses-", he returned, snatching it from Potter as Pettigrew had been about to take a peak, "-This year the Hufflepuffs captain is in control of the try-outs', so Godric knows what they are going to put in place. I'm only going to get a copy of their course tonight....so I thought it would be good to do some reasearch-". 

"-You are going to stress yourself out too much-", added Dorcas, who came to sit across from him, collecting some papers that had slipped beneath the table, "-If you are really this worried about the try-outs you should send a letter to Molly. I'm sure that she'd be willing to help you-". 

"-No-", he returned strongly, blinking harshly as his head began to droop in a sleepy way, "-She's far too busy with little Bill- I don't want to bother her -". 

"-But-". 

"-No, Dorcas-".The girl took off her glasses, shaking her head. He could be such a hard headed idiot some times. 

"-When are the try outs?-", then asked Potter, suddenly seeming very excited. He bounced up and down in his seat, beaming from ear to ear. The Potters loved Qudditch. They went to the Qudditch world cup finals just about every year, and Charlus would always bring James up onto his shoulders, allowing him to cry out into the arena.

"-Tommorow - after classes-", sighed the boy, "-Ugh- I wish I knew what they were up to over there-". He gave a look to the Hufflepuff table. "-Those yellow-belly ....-". Weasley noticed the slightly put off look he was getting. "-Never mind-". 

Dorcas sighed, "-Maybe Featherly might know-". 

"-No-", Billius raised his finger, "-I am not that desperate yet-". 

"-Can first years come and watch the try-outs-", pressed James, ignoring the obvious distaste on Weasley's face. 

"-Yeah-", he ran his fingers through his hair, "-Which is another thing. I don't even know who is trying out-". 

"-Well I am-", Dorcas stated.

"-You fly?-". Sirius did not seem to believe her at all. 

"-You should see her up on a broom-", Frank spoke grandly , "-Wicked she is-". 

"-I think Daniel is trying out too-", then stated Alice to Billius' aid, "-It'll be cool seeing him flying about- I've never got to watch him up on a broom-". Longbottom frowned a little. "-What about you Frank- are you trying out?-". 

"-Me-", he scoffed, "-I'd rather keep two feet on the ground thank you-". 

"-Franks scared of heights-", informed Dorcas. 

"-No, I am not-", he argued, "-I just....don't really like them all that much-". 

"-Its okay to be scared of heights-", affirmed Alice, "-I don't neccisarrily like them all that much either- and I can't say I am any good on a broom. Not as good as Sirius or James at least-". 

"-We'll your better than Slimey Snivellous-", replied Sirius. 

"-Well.....yeah-", she chuckled, before seeming quite interested, "- _Snivellous?_ \- where did that nickname come from?-". 

"-Don't-", stopped Billius, "-The last thing I need today is for Black to start being dramatic and pick a fight-". 

"-I am not dramatic-", the boy returned, clearly very offended. 

"-W-Well.... a little-", replied Peter, all curled into a ball. 

"-No one asked you-", hissed Sirius back. 

"-He is right though-", defended James. 

"-B-But-", Black folded his arms with his hair flipping like a model on a magazine, "-I am not dramatic-". And the other Gryffindoors laughed. "-I AM NOT!-". 


	34. The try-outs

On the morning of the Try-outs Billius didn't seem any more confident than he had the day before. Actually it seemed that he was more anxious, spending the entirety of breakfast scanning his eyes over a bit of paper he had received from the Hufflepuff prefect the night before as though it would save his life. Well, actually, thats what it felt like to him. They most definately hadn't made the course easy, that was for sure, and he supposed it was probably a bit of pay back for the year before hand when Molly Prewett had decided to cultivate the worlds hardest quidditch course. She barely managed it herself, and there was no underestimating her skills on a broom. And so he was the first one to leave the breakfast table, followed quickly by Dorcas who tried her hardest to assure him, not liking the worried look on her friends face. "-Billius-", she stopped him in the entryway hall, "-You are going to be fine-". 

"-But I'm not-", he argued, "-I'm worried that the teams going to end up all messed up....that none of them will be able to complete the Try-out's....". She gave him a small smile. "-I don't want to dissapoint Molly....really. She'll have my head If I do-". 

"-You wont dissapoint anyone-", assured the girl, "-stop your worrying-". She placed her palm on his shoulder, feeling them droop in an anxious way.

Yet there was one person who was most definately not at all concerned about the qudditch matches, and that was James. Actually, for someone who wouldn't be able to participate, he seemed to be the most excited of them all. He spent most of the day talking about it, babbering on and on to Sirius about different broom types, and what he would do the following year to ensure that he made the Gryffindoor team- even, at one point, attracting the attention of Lily Evans, who turned to them from her desk in History of Magic as Professor Binns slowly dragged some chalk across a board. And it made the most terribble sound that caused both Alice and Mary to cover their ears. "-Qudditch Try-outs- Today?-". James bobbed his head quickly, almost diving towards her-And Sirius was slightly glad for the break between James' constant talking. Though he wasn't happy that he had decided to talk with Lily Evans of all people.

"-Yeah- We are going to go after class-", he looked back to Sirius for a moment as he picked up his quill, lowering his voice, "-Want to come?-". 

"-I-", Lily considered it for a moment, "-I don't know...-". 

"-It should be fun- ", he pressed, "-C'mon Evans- show some house spirit-". 

She shifted in her seat. "-Well I did have some Transfiguration homework to do....and -". Yet after a few moments she gave in. "-Okay.....i'll go-". It didn't seem to bad going to see the try-outs, especially since she'd never seen anyone properly fly on a broom before as she didn't count Sirius and James' messing about in their classes.

"-Great- Meet us outside-", beamed James, "-Just....I wouldn't reccomend bringing Severus-". 

"-What- Why?-", Lily hadn't even thought about Sev until James had brought him up- And then she slightly felt bad for not having thought to ask him immediately. He was her best friend. How could she have not thought of him straight away.

"-Well....Sirius....Snape-", he chuckled, "-Thats a recipie for disaster if I've ever heard it-". 

Lily seemed even more reluctant than before in that moment. "-I...suppose so-". James smiled at her for rather longer than normal, before turning back to Sirius, who had barely scractched down the title on a piece of parchment before Potter began speaking again. And when the lesson ended, James and Sirius were the first ones out of the door, followed by a slightly slower Peter, who was not nearly as enthused as the other two about the events of their evening. Especially due to how cold the weather had become recently. "-Try-outs here we come!-", sang Potter, bouncing as he walked. 

"-We should make bets-", added Black with a chuckle, "-about who is going to eat dirt or not-". And Sirius had almost continued walking along the corridoor alone, if he had not noticed James stop and turn to Lily, who rushed to catch up with them with her reddish waves bouncing. "-What is _she_ doing with us-". It was safe to say the boy did not seem amused in the slightest. First James swapped his mouse with hers, and now she was following them along like a little lost puppy.

"-I invited her to come with us-", replied James, giving Evans an assuring look. 

"-I-", he rolled his eyes, "-Fine- but I am walking ahead-". And, as he had said, Sirius set of, stomping his way down the corridoor, muttering to himself. 

"-Sirius-", breathed James.

"-'Nicer than I think'-", returned Lily , glancing to James, "-Isn't that what you said?-". 

"-Uh-", he chuckled, "-He's just being a numpty is all- trust me- he really is nicer than you think-". 

////////

The grounds of Hogwarts were near frozen over, with the air being so cold that it hurt to breathe- and being up in the rickety wooden Quidditch stands was no different. James huddled towards Sirius, and Lily shivered, keeping a gap between her and Peter as she spotted Alice and Mary sit further down the row of seats with bundled up in scarves whilst pointing down at Daniel who waved up to the pair. And Billius glanced to the first years, before rubbing his reddened hands together, examining the line up of students before him, some of which were bouncing up and down, clearly freezing. There was a vast range of years, which was a good thing...he hoped. "-R-Right-", his voice cracked, to which Daniel giggled a bit. "-I-". 

"-Sorry I'm late-", Billius watched as Marlene trudged her way onto the pitch, dragging her broom alongside her with a slight bounce to her steps. 

"-Give me strength-", muttered Dorcas, looking away as she stood to attention, dressed in a full qudditch set from head to toe with her hair tied up in to pigtails. 

"-Mckinnon- great to see you-", he smiled nervously, noticing Dorcas' very obvious distaste. The pair still hadn't made up from the incident of her taking a peak in Meadows' diary, and he was worried about them both being up on brooms together. "-Now....W-What I was saying was-", he furrowed his brows, "-I was ...Um....-". 

"-Today we are going to be running through a course created by the Hufflepuff captain-", aided Dorcas, to which he gave her a thankful smile. He wasn't very good under pressure, that was for sure. 

"-As you can see-", contiued Billius, waving his hand up to the teachers box, "-Our very own Madame Hooch is here overseeing the Try-outs- and she will be in control of the obsticals....which will be highly based on reaction time. So Keep your best eye out or you'll get knocked out-". He seemed a little dismayed that there wasn't a single amused response at his comment. "-Anyhow- after that we will play a match where we will seperate you lot into two teams on each side of the pitch into the desired placements you wish to try for...and a match where we switch it about a bit- and then, this evening, I will announce the nineteen- seventy-one to ninteen-seventy-two Gryffindoor Qudditch team!-". 

"-What do you thinks gonna' happen?-", James sat forwards, peering over at the Gryffidoors as they began whispering to eachother. 

"-I think at least three people will fall off of their brooms-", commented Sirius, "-Billius looked miserable this morning. So I suppose the course is going to be hard-". 

"-H-he looks miserable now-", added Peter, to which both boys nodded. 

"-What do you think Evans?-", then asked James, leaning forwards so that he could see her properly, all rosy cheeked and shuddering.

"-I- Uh....Well I think everyones going to do fine-". Sirius groaned, slouching. "-Is there a problem, Black?-". 

"-Yeah-", he smiled smugly, "-You-". 

"-And what exactly have I done-", Evans argued, turning towards the boy. 

"- _W'ot 'Ave I dun'_ -", he mimicked, receiving a chuckle from James. 

"-Oh you are horrible-", then cried Lily, pushing up from her seat. 

"-Hey Evans!-", called James as she turned away from them, making her way further along the stands to sit with Mary and Alice, "-Where are you going- c'mon-". He nudged Black. "-Sirius was joking-". 

"-No I was not-", corrected the boy, "-Why would you even invite ginger to come with is in the first place?-". 

"-Well... because I'm a-". 

"-If you say its because you are a 'nice person' I will _personally_ hex you-", spoke Sirius, this time joking.

"-Not If I can get you first-", James shoved Sirius playfully, who then whacked into Peter, causing the boy to slip off of his seat and onto his bottom. 

"-Sirius-", he then cried. 

"-He pushed me-", Black wagged his finger in James' face. 

"-Yeah- cause' you're being a right turnip head-". 

"-Lily-", smiled Alice, shifting over so the girl could sit down, "-I thought you would be here with Snape or something?-". 

"-Well....no-", she looked over to the three boys, watching Peter climb back up onto the seat beside Sirius, "-James asked me to come-". 

"-Really?-", Mary chuckled, "-Well then, isn't he sweet-". 

"- _Sweet_ is not the word I would use-", she folder her arms, watching as the first student from the lot before Billius floated up on their broom, coming to settle at the latter end of the pitch. "-Boys are just annoying-". 

"-I can second that-", chuckled Mary, "-My brother does my head in-". 

"-But you two seem so close-", she replied, spotting the boy laughing with a fellow third year boy. 

"-He can still be anoying-", added Alice truthfully, "-Though I wouldn't mind having a brother or something-". She looked to Lily, encouraging her to speak.

"-Well I have a sister, Petunia....and you already know about her-". 

"-Yeah-", the girls chimed, recalling the lunch when Mckinnon had gotten carried away with speaking without thinking first. "But-", Alice folded one leg over the other, "-We don't know about you?-". 

"-Huh?-". 

"-She means-", explained Mary, "-We barely know you, Lily Evans-". 

Alice was right. Despite sharing a room they really didn't know all that much about eachother. Evans actually reconed she knew more about Remus than Alice and Mary combined, which caused her to look about, noticing that the boy was nowhere to be seen, again. "-Well....you've never asked-", Lily replied, "-Even in the dorm....you two are always talking about....Witchy things.....and I don't know about them...so I can't really...join you...-". 

"-Well you should just tell us to shut it then and talk-", Fortescue spoke simply, feeling a little bad for leaving Lily out , "-If you speak to us we'll listen you know- We aren't ignorant-". 

"-But....-", she looked away as Madame Hooch blew her whistle- And James nearly jumped out of his seat in excitement as the boy infront of them shot of on his broom, avoiding the first obstical that was set out with ease. 

"-No buts-", replied Macdonald kindly, "-And I only know about witchy stuff by learning it from Alice here-". Forescue nodded her head proudly. 

"-Wait-", Evans' eyes lit up, "-Are you a Muggleborn?- like me?-". 

"-Yep-", the girl chuckled, "-Me and My brother- which was a right shock for our parents I'll tell you that-". 

"-Mine looked like they were going to faint when Professor McGonagall came to my house -", replied Evans, very much liking the understanding nod that Macdonald gave her, "-....But....why have you never told me that you were like me?-". 

"-Because I am like you too-", replied Alice for her friend, "-We're all the same- even if we are Pureblood-". She nodded her head to Sirius, who cheered ( a little lacklusterly) at the same time as James as Dorcas took her turn to hop onto her broom, receiving an approving nod from Billius that Mckinnon dually noted. "-Halfie - or Muggle born-". 

"-Though theres _some_ people who would disagree with that though-", Mary leaned towards Lily, "-Families part of the sacred twenty-eight-". 

Lily had never heard the term before. "-What is that?-".

"-The families that are properly pureblood-", replied the girl, "-Its a list that was made in the thirties-". 

"-Which is a stupid list-", argued Alice a little passionatlely , "-My Dad thinks they're all right up their own-". 

"-DORCAS!-", called Daniel as the girl was knocked by one of the obsticals, coming hang over the broom on her stomach.

"-Oh no!-", cried the girls. "-She's going to fall-". Dorcas tried her hardest to swing back onto the broom, but her palm slipped a little, causing the broom to fall forwards. 

Billus immediately readied himself to set of to help her, yet was too slow, watching a flash of blonde shoot past him. And the next thing Dorcas knew, a hand helped her onto her broom as she came to look into the little face of Marlene Mckinnon. "-A-Are you okay?-". 

Meadows stared to their interwined hands, then back at the girl. "-I....yeah....thank you-". She retracted her arm. "-My glasses got all foggy from the cold- didn't see it coming-". She gave a thumbs up to Madame Hooch, who breathed a sigh of relief. 

"-Well take them off then- you can see still without them-", replied Marlene obviously, "-Most of the time you look over them....Plus you'll look like less of a nerd-". 

Meadows lips turned up in the corners. "-How did you notice that?-". 

"-I notice a lot-", replied Marlene slowly, "-Here- hand me them-". Dorcas gave Mckinnon a hesitant look, before removing her glasses, handing them to her. "-See...much better-". 

"-Oi Billius-", then called Dorcas, "-Can I have another go?-". 

"-Yeah-", he called , mouthing something to madame Hooch as Meadows gave Marlene a half smile, turning away.

/////////

"-And Marlene you went in like woosh- and - and Dorcas was all like-", James hung himself over the back of the sofa in the common room, flailing his arms and legs, "-Save me- Save me-". Sirius laughed, pretending to be Marlene diving to the rescue so that both him and James toppled onto the ground, getting a few dissaproving looks. 

"-I did not once say 'save me'-", argued Dorcas, glaring at Lily, Alice and Mary as they laughed with Daniel, who swayed right on the edge of the sofa, throwing a bit of paper into the fire. 

"-Don't worry Dorcas, my darling-", replied Billius, re-reading the piece of paper her had been scribbling on, "- Your face said it all-". He seemed quite happy that the try-outs had finished, and confident in the results. Things had started to look up a bit.

"-Okay- Thats it-", she placed her hands on her hips, "-The next person who talks about that is getting hexed back to whatever shack, village or-". The girl gave a pointed glance to Sirius. "-Palace they came from-". 

"-Well, from what i've heard-", stated Frank with quite the chuckle, "-Marlene is the hero of the day-". 

"-Frank-", greeted Alice with a smile, spotting a pot in his grasp, "-Is that ?-". 

"-Fluxweed-", stated Frank, coming to show it to Alice, "-Professor Sprout let me take some to study how it grows-". 

"-Oh Merlin-", laughed Marlene, "-You and your bloody plants-". 

"-Hey-", he made a show of covering its leaves with his palm , "-Don't hurt it's feelings-". 

"-C-Could I see it?-", then spoke Peter in a timid way. 

"-Of course-", smiled Frank, turning to the other sofa to show the boy, who examined the plant. 

"-What's so interesting about plants-", scoffed Sirius, wrinkling his nose. 

"-Well- they probably are nicer than you for a start-", then stated Marlene saltily. 

"-Don't you two start-", warned Billius, "-I'm trying to think-". 

"-Well think faster!-", called James so that the other Gryffindoors in the room heard, "-I want to know who's on the team-". 

"-Yeah, Weasley-", smiled Daniel, sitting forwards, "-Tell us-". 

"-Five min-". 

"- _Billius_!-", they chimed, to which the boy groaned, standing. 

"-Fine-". He held the paper out infront of him, clearing his throat. "- Patil , Mckinnon and Grey-". Patil and Grey, who were Billius' roomates, sat forwards from their separate conversations. "-Chasers-". 

"-Yes-", celebrated Marlene, receiving a high five from Longbottom. 

"-Then we have Me, and...Creevy as Beaters-". One of the third year boys laughed as his friends patted him on the back. 

"-Nice one Creevy!-", called Daniel with a chuckle. 

"-Which then leaves-", Billius smirked, "-Daniel as Keeper and Meadows as Seeker-". Dorcas' eyes shot wide as her friends celebrated. 

"-Seeker!-", exclaimed James, "-Thats the best one!-I'd love to be a seeker!-". 

"-Not with those jam jars on your face-", teased Sirius.

Marlene gave Billius a suspicious look. "-But-", Dorcas shook her head, "- I can't be Seeker- I fell off of my broom because I didn't see an obstical coming- so how am I meant to notice a snitch?-". 

"-You only didn't see it because your glasses fogged up-", he stated, "-You have a keen eye Dorcas-". Meadows frowned as Alice shook her shoulder , smiling. She really didn't feel as though she deserved the position- yet, after a moment, she decided to press down all of her doubt. "-You'll do us proud-". 


	35. The hut by the woods

Despite James' excitement over Qudditch and Brooms, he seemed far less estatic the next day when him and Sirius were forced to trudge across the grounds in the freezing cold, tugging along two buckets, sponges and pots of wood polish that they'd borrowed for the evening. It was time for them to receive their punishment for their behaviour, or lack of it, in flying- and Madame Hooch, all the way from the castle, had seemed far more snappy than usual . But that was most likely because not even she wanted to be out when it was so , unbearibly cold. "-I want these brooms spick and span by the next time I see them-", spoke the woman quickly, keeping a steady pace. She had a cup of tea and cake to get back to in Minerva's office, and did not want either to get cold . "-I don't want you doing any mucking about , or causing grief-". 

"-But Professor-", struggled James, knocking his bucket against Sirius' so that a great amount of soapy water spilled out onto his shoes- and Sirius groaned, glaring at him , "-Why are we going so far away from the Qudditch shed-". Black shifted his foot around in his shoe, turning his nose up at it as the bottom squelched. Potter was right. They were very far away from the Quidditch shed or any part of Hogwarts that was allowcated for the sport. Actually, when he looked again, he could clearly see the treeline of the forbidden forest, staring back at him as though it were going to swallow them whole. 

"-Because I know better than to leave two first years alone in a broom shed-", and as she said this, both boys spotted a small, higgdly piggldy hut, with cracked, wonky windows and a great amount of smoke drifting itself out of the chimney. It looked just ready to fall down and nearly as ancient as the school itself.

"-I didn't know there was a house here-", spoke James, carefully keeping close to the Professor as they approached it. 

"-You call that a house-", Sirius snobbishly remarked , "-My bathrooms bigger-". They came to the front door, with both Sirius and James watching a small group of Spiders scurry out of the window. "-A-And more sanitary-". 

James watched as the woman tapped at the door with her knuckle. "-Do _you_ live here Professor-". She cocked a brow at him. "-I'll take that as a no-". 

"-You would be correct-", she returned snappily, standing back as the withered old door slowly opened to reveal Hagrid, who held a mug of tea, immediately noticing James. 

"-Well Hullo' there James-". 

"-Hagrid-", greeted the boy with a smile, watching as he spotted Sirius, seeming far less overjoyed. He even appeared to fix the way his jacket sat on his shoulders, standing up straight. 

"-Here they are-", the woman glanced past him, "-And I see you got the brooms-". 

"-Course' Rolanda-", he smiled uneasily, feeling Black giving him quite a stare. 

"-Well boys-", she opened out her hand, "-I shall leave you in the care of Hagrid-". And with that she turned away, marching back in the direction which she had came from. This left James, Sirius and Hagrid in an awkward sort of silence, to which Hagrid let out a breathy laugh. 

"-Got in trouble then I see?-". 

"-Yep-", James shivered. 

"-Are you not going to invite us inside-", then hissed Sirius, feeling his sodden toes freezing up. 

"-Oh right-". Hagrid stood out of the way, allowing the two boys to step in, taking a moment to look around. The place was very crowded, with an old table and stone walls that were barely warmed by the measly little fire place- and Sirius had to stop himself from sneezing at the amount of dust in the air. "-Welcome ter' my 'ome-", he scurried...or thumped across the room, taking up a tea pot into his grasp to pour out two little rusty cups of the contents. "-O'er theres the brooms-". James and Sirius placed down their buckets, making their way over to the brooms to take one each. 

"-She wants us to clean these?-", Sirius examined it, noticing the heavy amount of dirt, splinters and even a crack in the handle, "-I say burn them for fire wood-". 

"-Well we can' have that-", stated Hagrid knowingly, focusing on perfecting the cup that he'd be offering to Sirius, "-Those are the spares for the upcomin' season-".

"-Spares?-", James looked around once more , taking a seat on what looked as though it were once a foot stall. 

"-Yes...for the little ones that can' afford brooms-". Sirius and James looked to eachother, and then down to the outdated ancient...things. There was no way that they would be anywhere near as good as any of the modern styled brooms. They were clunky and useless.....well, it appeared they did actually have one use. Yet neither Sirius, nor James, could imagine who wouldn't have been able to afford a broom.

"-Well then-", Potter smiled, "-Let's make these as good as new Sirius-". 

"-How on earth would we do that?-", he returned as Potter took the sponge from his pot, "-Not all of the magic in existance could fix-". 

"-Just sit down-", he tugged Sirius onto a turned over pot beside him, dragging the boys bucket over to them. And Potter set to scrubbing as hard and as fast as he could, every so often flicking suds of soap at Sirius who blew his hair from his slightly irritated face. 

"-Watch it-", Sirius flicked some off of his sponge, more slowly begining to wipe at the broom. Yet he didn't really know how- and got annoyed at a particular speck of dirt that wouldn't seem to budge. "-Ugh!- This is house-Elf work!-", he threw the sponge into the bucket. 

"-Well-", chuckled Hagrid, "-Why don't yer' take a break- 'ere-". He slid the two slightly cooled cups of tea towards them .

"-Thanks-", James moved the broom infront of him out of the way, revealing his sopping wet lap and dripping sleeves from the amount of effort he had been putting into his work. And Sirius felt a disgusted shudder run down his spine as James, without thought, placed his lips to the tea cup, drinking it down. 

"-Don't Yer' want yer' tea-", then spoke Hagrid, pointing to the untouched cup.

"-Um- No-", Black returned, pushing his hair behind his ear. It had continuously been getting in the way, being so curly that flecked out in different directions. 

"-Are you sure ,Sirius-", added James, "-Its really good-". 

"-Its a special brew-", stated Hagrid with a bit of pride , "-Got it from Knock- I mean _Diagon_ Alley-.....can' remember the name tho'....-". He scratched the back of his head. 

Sirius paused, smelling a particular aroma in the ari. "-...Bouncing Bulb essance tea?-".

"-Thas' it-", replied Hagrid, watching as Sirius stood, making his way over to the table, "-You know it well?-". 

**"-Sirius?-What are you doing?-", Regulus watched as his brother, younger and far more cheerful, climb up onto the counter, wobbling on the edge, "-Be careful!-". Regulus tottered his way over to a chair, using all of his little might to pull it out just incase Sirius needed to get down quickly. The last thing he wanted was for him to fall and hurt himself. Their father and mother would be so furious.**

**"-Shhh Regulus-", he carefully opened the cupboard door, looking around on the shelf as quietly as he could whilst Regulus , who realised that there was no chance that his brother would get down without retreiving the item he wanted ,stood guard- watching as his brother brought out a small box with very pretty writing on the side, holding the chair in place as he hopped down onto it. "-Ta-da-".**

**"-Bouncy tea!- Bouncy tea!-", he exclaimed gleefully, quieting himself as Sirius placed a finger to his lips, "-I'll get kreacher to make us some-".**

**"-No- I can do it-", returned Sirius confidently, sliding off of the chair.**

**"-What?-", he watched as his brother made his way across the kitchen, coming to the stove. And he carefully reached for the tea pot. "-But Mother says we shouldn't touch anything in here-".**

**"-They're asleep all the way upstairs Reg-", returned Sirius, coming to the sink, "-Now-How do you use this?-".**

**Regulus, after putting the chair back in place, hopped over to the sink, coming up on his tip-toes to turn the faucet so that water shot from it into the teapot until it was full to the brim. Sirius then drew it out from the safety of the sink, forgetting that it was wet-and lost his grip, causing it to smash in a puddle on the ground. "-Oh no!-". The sound was followed by the thumping of footsteps steps above them, spiralling down like a menacing tune. "-Fathers coming!-".**

**Sirius looked to the doorway of the room, then to his brother. "-Kreacher-". The elf immediately appeared before him, spotting the damaged item almost immediately. "-Take Regulus to his room-".**

**"-What?- No-", Regulus grabbed onto Sirius' arm- yet was pryed off of it.**

**"-Regulus you shouldn't get in trouble because of me-", he stated firmly, staring into his little doe like eyes, "-Go-"**. 

"-Yeah....-", Sirius spoke a little sadly, "-My brother loves this....because it-". 

"-AHHH- Whats happening?-", James' hair began to bounce up and down atop his head, pulsing like some kind of heartbeat. 

"-....Makes your hair bounce-", finished Black, looking into the cup of swirling liquid, before taking it up into his hands. And he hesitated, before tipping the rim to his soft little lips so that the sweet liquid filled his mouth. Such a familliar taste. Hagrid then, looking quite proud of himself, settled back into his seat with a warm smile.

After drinking their tea, the boys set to working on the brooms again, with Sirius this time seeming a little more motivated- to which Hagrid watched them closely, seeming to become less and less weary of the Black boy with each passing minuet. And by the time they had nearly finished night had already fallen. "-Well- I got ter' say you boys did a good ol' job-". 

Sirius wiped his forehead with his sleeve, noticing a speck of dirt on his pale palm. One that seemed , in that moment, far greater than it truely was. "-R-Right....". 

"-Well come on then Sirius-", James jumped up, "-We better get back to the castle before curfew-". Black ,this time, carefully placed his sponge in his bucket, standing beside his friend. "-Thank you for the tea Hagrid-". 

"-Yes- by all means - come round' again if yer' want more- I've got plenty-". They then watched as he turned around, opening the lid of a tin that sat beside him to produce two handfuls of little tea bags, handing them to the boys.

"-Thank you-", smiled James. 

"-Yes....-", Sirius closed his palm around them, "-Thank you-". And Potter seemed to freeze for a moment, not sure if he'd heard Black correctly. 

"-You said thank you-", he then relayed after they had stepped out into the night. 

Sirius shuddered as a cold gust of wind passed them by. "-Yes...and?-". 

"-And....-", James frowned, searching Blacks face, "-Are you okay Sirius?-". 

Sirius placed the tea bags into his pocket, coming to match Potters gaze. Yet, after he'd been about to lie, he spotted something odd, having to blink a few times. "-Isn't that...Lupin?-". 

"-Huh- What?-", but by the time James had turned around, the silhouette of the boy dissapeared from view.


	36. Bouncing Bulb

"-Merlin-".

"-Ow-".

"-Ow-".

Sirius stirred within his blankets, slowly blinking awake to the greyed light of the Gryffindoor doorm room. "-Ow-". He slowly shifted his hand, pushing up from the matress to spot, sat hunched over the end of his bed, Remus- who tugged on a fresh, slightly reddened bandage that rested about his arm. "-Mer....-", his nose twitched, to which his eyes met Sirius' for a moment, before he scrambled to put on the shirt that had rested beside him. "-Sirius....". 

Black looked Remus up and down, brushing some of his hair from his face. "-Your arm...".

Remus paused, having buttoned up half of his shirt. "-I....Uh- took a fall-", he sat up straight, "-a nasty one-". Sirius pulled his covers from his body. "-Had to go to the hospital wing to get all healed up you see-". 

"-A Nasty fall ?-", Sirius then stood, folding his arms, "-Would that have occured In the forbidden forest, by any chance-". 

Lupin met Sirus' gaze again, this time attempting to hide any hints of falsety. "-The Forbidden forest?-", he scoffed, "-What on earth would I be doing in the Forbidden forest-". 

"-You tell me-", retorted Black, making his way across the room, "-And while your at it you can tell me why you dissapeared all the other times too-". He blinked at Sirius in disbelief, unable to stop the slightly amused smile that crawled onto his face. 

"-You know-", he commented, changing the subject, "-Maybe you should actually cut your hair-". The boy stood, pushing past Sirius to grab his tie from the dresser-But Black snatched his arm before he could. "-...Sirius...". 

"-Tell me-". 

Remus stared down to Sirius' grasp, noticing that he'd made sure not to grab his would. "-You know....-", he glared at him, "-I don't have to tell you anything ,Sirius Black-". Remus lowered his voice. "-I am not your friend....nor do I have any reason to tell you-". 

"-I-I'll tell Professor McGonagall if you don't-", argued Sirius , raising his head as high as he could. Yet Lupin still towered over him like a slightly annoyed shadow - not at all intimidated. 

"-Go ahead-", he smiled, snatching his arm away. Yet he'd done it slightly too fast, having to hide the amount of pain that shrieked its way through his entire body. And Sirius stepped back. "-What?- Aren't you going to McGonagall?-". 

"-....I get the feeling that....she already knows....-", Black then spoke spoke, seeing that his only advantage in knowing what Lupin was up to had been snatched away rather quickly. 

"-You would be correct-", returned Lupin, grabbing his robes, "-And its none of your buisness what I do with my spare time-". Remus headed for the door. 

"-I'm not the only one who's noticed, you know-". Lupin stopped. "-Ginger has- and Potter too. And if I don't find out then I'm sure they'll start wondering- and then everyone will want know what little secrets you are hiding- Mr 'Family buisiness'-". The boys eye twitched in irritance. He really wasn't giving in. "-May as well get it over and done with". He cupped his hands over the sides of his head. "-I'm all ears, Scarfa-".

"-Stop it..-". Remus half turned to him, not allowing him to finish his insult. "-There is some things in this world- Sirius- that....everyone doesn't have to know-". Sirius frowned, hearing....a slight bit of panic in his voice. "-Especially not a spoilt little pureblood who cares for nobody but himself-". 

"-Nobody but my-!-", but before Sirius could even finish his arguement Remus stormed out of the room slamming the door.

"-CHEEZE AND CRACKERS!-", yelled a startled Peter, having been torn from his dream like an old plaster, "-W-What happened?-". 

//////////////////////////

"-Right class-", Professor Sprout placed her hands on her rounded hips, looking around at all of the first year students as they listened mostly attentively. The exception from that, of course, was a rather angry looking Sirius Black, who glared at Remus as Lupin made an effort to ignore him, even , at one point, coming to raise a book infront of his face. And Alice bounced in anticipation for the contents of their class, very clearly excited. "-In a moment I will be bringing around to each of you -", she reached into a crate that shuddered and shook , seemingly alive, "-A bouncing bulb-". The woman closed her heavy , gloved grip around a purple plant that jumped about, desperate to get out of her grasp. "-Which you will have to hold on tightly too. These plants, if not detained, can cause a grand amount of damage, believe me. I once had a student who was knocked out cold by one- poor thing-". 

"-Wanna bet on who's going to accidentally let theirs go-", smiled James to Sirius. Yet he didn't much like the silence he recieved in return. "-Hey...Sirius , mate-". 

"-Potter-", he then blurted , ignoring the boys prior invitation, "-Do you think I only care about myself?-". 

The boy took a little too long to answer for Sirius' liking. "-I mean- no?....I don't know.... Do you?-". 

"-No!-", he snapped back a little loudly. 

"-Mr Black-", warned Sprout as she carefully moved across the greenhouse, placing a bouncing bulb in Mary's grasp- And she presented it to Lily, who seemed entirely amazed by the odd thing, "-Keep the volume down-".Sirius wrinkled his nose at her. 

"-Well what do you care about?-", pressed James, watching as Lily was next presented with a bulb that almost got away- and she smiled the same little smile that she had given James in their Transfiguration class.

"-Well care about biscuits- and...playing the piano I su-". He paused to James' laughter. "-What?-".

"-I don't mean 'care' as in something you _like_ -", Potter explained, "-I mean it like....I care about you...because you are my friend-".

"-I...I don't understand-". Sirius shifted away from James in an uncomfortable way. It was an entirely odd thing for him to say.

"-Someone you care for is....someone you like a lot....or worry about...or _love_ -". Black didn't like the last word. 'Love'. He'd only heard it once before . "-They can be your parents....or your friends...or....siblings?-". 

Sirius furrowed his brows, thinking upon the notion for a moment. He'd never really considered such a thing before. "-.....Regulus-", he then decided, "-....I care about....Regulus-". 

"-Thats good-", smiled James, seeing a bit of progress in Sirius' understanding, even though he didn't seem at all convinced as he spoke. 

"-I care about my mum-", then blurted Peter, going up on his tip-toes to take a peak into the box. He'd never seen 'Bouncing bulb' before, and though that they seemed rather interesting.

"-And I am sure she cares about you a lot too-", smiled James, to which Pettigrew couldn't help but do the same back. Yet Sirius didn't seem at all smiley, or happy. Instead he repeated the words he had said under his breath, never able to seem to get them to sound right. It sort of...turned his insides....in a weird....painless sort of way. And he got so caught up in his near silent chanting that he almost ignored Professor Sprout as she held out a bouncing bulb to him. 

"-Mr Black-". 

"-Oh-", he reached out his hands, taking the creature. Yet he hadn't anticipated its strength, accidentally thumping his elbows down on the desk infront of him. "-Ow!- You Merlin for saken- whatever you are-". James laughed at his reaction. "-Shut up Potter- it's not funny- It hurt-". 

"-Wait, did it really?-". Sirius shot him an expression of disbelief. He was sure that he had made his immediate reaction of pain loud enough. "-Oh I'm sorry- are you okay mate?-". 

"-Yes- Fine-", he then hissed, before frowning, "-....You know...You ask me that a lot...". 

"-What?-". 

"-'Are you okay'-", the boy echoed, "-.....is that....something you would...consider part of caring...?-". 

"-I've...never really thought about it-", shrugged Potter. It was just a natural response for him. "....A lot of things could be part of caring, I suppose-", he stated, "-Like when I gave my mouse to Lily-". 

"-So you care about Lily?-". 

"-I-", James blushed a little, almost letting go of his bulb , "-I didn't mean that. I meant that I cared about the fact that she really didn't want to accidentally hurt the mouse...I wanted to help her-".

"-But she doesn't like you?-". 

"-Actually...She doesn't like _you_ -", rebutted James, "- but maybe she would if you decided to help someone once she would ?-". 

He shook his head. "-I don't need a Muggle born to like me-", returned Black , coming to hold the Bulb closer to his chest. 

"-...I....Fair enough-", James answered, seeing not much of a point in arguing with him, "-But life is a lot easier when people do like you, Sirius-". 

Black frowned, accidently releasing a bit of his grasp on the bulb. And it slipped out of his arms, coming to bounce up and down on the desk. "-Mr Black!- Don't just stare at it!- Catch it!-". Sirus swung for the Bulb, knocking James' arm so that he released his, which made Peter flail in a panic. And before Sirius knew it, everyone had released or lost grip of their bulbs, allowing them to bounce around the room from ceiling to floor, before smashing their way out of the greenhouse and onto the grounds.

"-U-um-", Sirius stuttered as the entire greenhouse fell silent, looking to him, "-You know they can really jump high- I did not expect that-". 

"-Sirius- you're an idiot-", giggled James as Professor Sprout sighed. 

"-One point deducted from Gryffindoor-", she stated tiredly, knowing that she shouldn't have been so leisurely in handing them over to the students, "-Now wait here you lot- I have to get Hagrid to catch those bloomin' things before they smash every piece of glass in the school-". And as the woman stomped out of the room, the first years couldn't help but laugh. 


	37. Dumbledores Office

The study of Albus Dumbledore, was a large space located high up at the top of a hidden stairwell the moved about beneath a set of smart shoes. And within it there were artifacts, books, vials, portraits and a pendulum that swung back and forth with great swooshing sounds. Yet the most important part of the room was a desk that sat near the centre, which, upon it, rested a Phoenix by the name of 'Fawkes' ,with deep, reddish feathers and quite watchful eyes that widened a little as the door to the room slowly opened, followed by the shifting of papers as Albus Dumbledore sat up from his proir hunched position to see little Remus Lupin stepping in, holding his arm quite firmly. "-Well-", he greeted, waving his hand to an old chair that rested just across the desk from him, "-to what do I owe this pleasure ,Mr Lupin-". He placed his quill on his desk as he slowly came to sit down, clearly in a great deal of discomfort. "-You should go to Madame Pomfrey if you have injured yourself-". 

As he said this, Remus released his grasp on his arm, pretending all was fine. "-I've already been once this year...I'd rather not cause her any more trouble , Proffessor-". He searched the room with his eyes momentairily, avoiding the mans gaze. "-....Plus ...I'm sure that she has plenty of other students to deal with-". 

"-Yet you are not like _other_ students, Mr Lupin...-". Remus seemed to deflate a little. "-Oh- I apologise- I did not mean to offend you-". 

"-You didn't, Sir-", he responded calmly, bringing his attention back to the man, "-It's true...-". There was a slight silence that followed this. One that was on the boarder of being awkward.

Dumbledore then , to thwart this state, brought his hands together with the clinking of a copious amount of rings. "-....Well I must say that I'd slightly wished that you'd come to me for quaint conversation-". Remus chuckled in a breathy way. "-But from the forlorn expression you had just now, i'm inclined to believe otherwise-". 

"-Yes...-". The boy gave Dumbledore a sincere look. "-It's Sirius Black , sir.....he's....he's trying to find out why I am...dissapearing-". 

"-Oh-", Dumbledore seemed surrpised....or more like he were pretending to be surprised. It was quite difficult to tell. ".....Well I had not expected that -I was not aware that the two of you were friends?-". 

"-We aren't-", corrected Remus swiftly , to which the man gave him an acknowledging nod, "-He's just....nosey....and I don't why he's so desperate to know. Nobody else is...yet..-". Lupin frowned. He'd known that, ever since he got his letter, something like this could have happened. Someone would have got curious. He knew it well and true, despite the amount that Professor Dumbledore had tried to consol him- And of all people it would have been Sirius Black too. It was just his luck. "-I'm worried that he'll find out...that he'll tell the whole school...and I-I'll...have to leave....and I don't know what to say to him to stop him from trying to look for answers-". Dumbledore brought his hand to his greyed beard. "-I need help....-". 

"-And help you sha'll recieve then-", answered the man, finding a solution within his mind, "-I shall personally see to it that Mr Black is deturred so that you have no need to concern yourself-". He opened his desk drawer, glancing to a callender. "-Tommorow morning I should have ample time to speak with him-".

"-Thank you , Professor....".

Dumbledore , as he closed the draw, examined him, noticing a hesitance in his voice. "-Is there anything else you wish to speak to me about?....". He could tell that the boy was clearly not finished. 

"-Um...yes actually-". He took a sharp breath, shifting himself into a more comfortable decision. "-I think I should start going to the Shack...the evening of the full moon...instead of the day before-". Professor Dumbledore raised his brow, intrigued by the boys suggestion. "-That way I wont be....gone for so long. I could be back by the next afternoon...if its not a bad one...". 

"-But that was the agreement we made with your father-", spoke the man seriously, "-Are you sure that you would want to go against it?-". 

"-I can't carry on going missing for two or three days, Professor...I think thats becoming clear-".

The man wore a thoughtful look. "-Quite....and I do suppose it would do no detriment to your studies-". Remus nodded. "-But...the reason for you leaving the day before hand-". 

"-I can control myself...Professor-", spoke the boy, now seeming a little affronted. He wasn't weak...nor did he need to lock himself away for any longer than necissary just to hide the dark cloud that liked to hang over his head once a month. 

"-Well then-", Dumbledore gave him a kindred smile, "-I shall leave that decision to you....-". 

"-But...". He sat forwards."...Shouldn't you choose...Professor?. I mean....wouldn't that be the....wizer option-". Lupin now seemed a little worried, having wanted Dumbledore to decide for him. He didn't want to make the wrong choice- and there was, in his eyes, no better person to allowcate a resolution to him than the headmaster of Hogwarts himself. A man who spent much of his time making decisions...including the one that had allowed Remus onto the school grounds in the first place.

"-Mr Lupin. I have great confidence in whatever choice you decide to make...for I know it will be both mature and...in the best interests of yourself-". He slid a piece of paper across his desk towards one of two piles that sat there. "-I am not ...in the same condition as you- and so, do not understand it in the way in which you do. So...if you say that you can 'control' yourself... and believe entirely that you should... leave later than prior.....then I am in no right to believe otherwise-". 

"-Right-", his voice droned uneasily as Dumbledore pressed his half moon glasses further onto the bridge of his crooked nose, "-I suppose I should be going then-". 

"-If that is all you wished to say-". 

"-Yes-". Remus stood. "-Thank you Professor-". He then looked to Fawkes, who seemed as though he bowed his head, shaking a little on his claws with a slight frazzle to his feathers . "-He looks quite frail, Professor-". 

"-Ahhh- Yes....I believe he does not have long left before he burns-", he stroked his feathers, "- they are such extroadinary creatures, Phoenix's-".

"-I suppose so-", half agreed Remus, "-I'd hate to be one though....-". The boy smiled pittifully. "-It'd be miserable....living over and over again...-". 

"-I suppose thats why we should cherish the life we have -", aided Dumbledore in a lecturing manner , "-Even if it is not perfect- or the one that we desire. Life will always be special...as we only get to experience it once- unlike our feathered friend here-". The man seemed to speak with a purpose. One that formed an understanding between the two Wizards. "-Don't you agree...Mr Lupin?-". Remus bobbed his head, just barely enough for the Professor to notice.


	38. Lumos

The next morning, Remus kept quite the close eye on Sirius from his desk in Charms, half listening to Lily as she complained about the wand motions in the book that the Professor had given them all. They had moved on to more entirely practical lessons- a transition which the students were most excited for. Every lesson felt as great as the last, and their chattering was almost uncontainable. "-These don't make senes-", she opened out the page further, holding it infront of Lupin, "-I can't work out where it starts and ends-". 

Remus blinked to adjust his eyes for the sudden change of view. "-Oh- Erm-", he read the annotations, "-I suppose its just a simple....I don't know actually- that looks like just a dot to me-". He tilted his head around, looking for any other motions, but there weren't any. Yet he recognised the spell.....that was for sure. His father would use it to guide him to the....

"-Mr Lupin- Miss Evans-", Lily slowly lowered the book, meeting the smile of Flitwick, who teetered on the books that he balanced upon to see over his desk, "-Something the matter?-". 

"-Well the motion Sir?-", began Evans certainly , not liking the way that the entire class was staring at her, "-Its just a dot-". Sirius sniggered. 

"-Something funny, Black?-", defended Remus calmly, to which he sat up straight as though a dog ready to bark. 

"-Any idiot could work out that it just means you flick it, _Lupin_ -". 

"-Very good, Mr Black-", affirmed the Professor, rasing his wand, "-Its a simple flick- Like so-". He tipped his wand forwards as though tapping on an invisible wall, speaking with the clearest voice he could muster from such a tiny body. "- _Lumos-_ ", and a large ball of light appeared at the end of his wand, seeming to grow brighter with the confidence in which he had spoken the spell. 

James, who had also been staring at the charms book with a definate look of confusion, nudged Sirius as he smugly lowered himself back into his seat. "-Mate- How did you know that it was a flick?-". 

He folded one leg over the other as Peter shifted closer to hear the answer. "-I used to use it all of the time, to sneak around my house at night-". 

Potter gave him a confused look. "-Why wouldn't you just turn on a light- or a candle-". 

"-Turn on a light? ". Sirius had never heard the term before. "-What?-". 

"-A light's a thing that glows and _lights_ up a room?-". Peter chuckled at James rather simplified explanation.

"-I got that-", snarked Sirius back, "-But how do you turn it on?-". 

"-With a switch-", aided James, just seeming to confuse him more. 

"-....And what is a -". 

"-Now-", spoke Flitwick, cutting the boys conversation short , "-Today you all will be attempting the _Lumos_ spell- which is a Spell that is a neccissity for all Witches and Wizards as it allows them to be able to see in the darkest of places or hours-". He leaned over his desk in an enticing sort of way. "-And it can sometimes aid the caster against a selection of Dark creatures too- such as a Gytrash-". 

"-Gytrash?-", Peter shuddered, "-I thought those weren't real-". 

"-They are very real-", added Mary, overhearing the boy. She then turned to him with a dimpled smile. "-I read it in Hogwarts a History - apparently theres some in the Forbidden forest- though they were only seen last in the eighteen-ninetees. 

"-Eighteen-ninetees?-", James chuckled, "-Thats ages ago- even before my dad was born, and he's old-". 

"-Thats when Dumbledore went to Hogwarts- wasn't it?-", replied Alice, begining to count in her head. 

"-What?-", Sirius frowned, "-He cannot be that old- can he?-". The girls shrugged.

"-So-", the Proffessor announced, "-If all of you students could please stand-". The first years followed his instruction, standing almost all together with a shift of robes, or, in Sirius' case, a furiously paced blowing of hair. 

"-Salazaar-", he groaned, "-Its curling right by my mouth- look-". 

"-Well you could ask your parents to cut it when you go back for Christmas?-". Sirius frowned near immediately at this. "-What?-". 

"-Um...Nothing-", he gave him a weak smile as the first student set to conjuring a Lumos, which was frail and quite limp compared to the one of the Professor. 

"-Very well done-", praised the Professor , as Lily next attempted the spell, resulting with a slightly brighter charm, "-And you Miss Evans-". 

Sirius glared at James as he gave her a mini applause. "-What is wrong with you?-". 

"-Huh-", Potter brought his hands together for a final time, "-What- can I not congratulate someone?-". 

"-I-". 

"-Mr Black-". The class fell silent upon the soft, yet commanding voice of Albus Dumbledore, who provided them all with a smile. And the students began to whisper in a hushed way amongst eachother, with Alice and Mary beginning to hushedly guess how old he was again, deciding that it must have been somewere in the ninetees to...one-hundered range, which was admittedly quite ancient. "-Well- What a lovely group of First years you have here ,Filius-". 

"-Yes-", replied the man, coming to hold his wand with two hands, "-Sorry- but what student was it you asked for?- I regret to say I was busy watching the students casting -". 

"-Mr Black-", he replied, looking directly to the boy- who felt himself sink into his chair a little in hesitance. The Headmaster of Hogwarts wanted to see him? Surely that couldn't have meant anything good- and he must have looked rather frightened too, as James patted him on the back. 

"-Sirius?-". 

"-Mr Black- please come with me-", Dumbledore examined him, "-Do not look so afraid- you are not in trouble of any kind-". Remus tried his hardest to keep his eyes fixated on the front of the room, not wanting to seem as though he had any part in the situation. 

"-I'm not afraid-", then blurted Black cockily, making a show of jumping to his feet- Yet his robes got caught on his chair, causing it to topple over. "-Oops-", he spoke as the class giggled , and after freeing himself from the chairs clutches , he make his way towards the man, before leaving the classroom . 

"-Remus- are you okay?-", she watched the boys shoulders drop in a relaxed manner, with a smile crawling onto his face. 

"-Great-". He finally felt as though he didn't have to worry about Black's nosieness anymore. "-Just Great-". 

Lily watched the classroom door slowly close. "-I wonder what they are talking about?-". 

"-I....I wouldn't know-", lied the boy, picking back up the book, "-It really does look simple now we know how to do it- doesn't it-". Evans examined the picture once more, before chuckling with a nodd. 

/////////////

"-You didn't tell us what he said-", spoke James quickly, placing his sandwhich down on a plate as Peter wrapped his cold , pudgy fingers around a mug of tea that steamed upwards . Sirius had come back to lesson not long after Professor Dumbledore had taken him, seeming rather quiet. He'd spent the rest of the class looking to the table in considerate silence, thinking everything through- and had come to the conclusion that it did not make sense. "-C'mon-", he leaned to his ear so that only Peter and him could hear, "- Tell us- We wont tell anyone- right Peter-". 

"-I....right-", Pettigrew nodded. 

"-Fine-", he glanced down the table to Remus from beneath his brows, watching the boy as he laughed at a comment from Lily across the table, "- He wanted to speak about him-".

"-Who?-", Pettigrew looked around in a bewildered manner, before spotting Remus. And then he felt quite stupid - which wasn't helped by the expression on Sirius' face. "-oh...Him...-". 

"-And What did he say?-". 

"-.....That he's sick-". Potter and Peter sat back a little in shock. "-What?- Do you two actually believe that?-". 

"-Well-", James frowned, "-I suppose it could make sense. It would explain why he goes missing so much-". 

"-But- But-", Sirius couldn't believe them, even less than he believed that Remus Lupin was sick, "-That doesn't explain the big wound on his arm- and him coming out of the Forbidden Forest at night-". 

"-Cut?-", echoed his friend, "-What cut?-". 

"-When Remus came back the other day he had a cut on his arm- and it looked bad too-". 

"-Y-You saw it-", Peter squeaked, feeling a little queasy at the idea of a big cut. He probably couldn't have handled being faced with a paper cut, let alone a prominent wound. 

"-Well- no-", he replied honestly, "-But it was bandaged up-". 

"-Then it could have been anything, Sirius-", replied James, who had, in the last few moments, grown a great amount of sympathy for the boy- recalling the night they had terrified him down the stairs. He was sick already, and they had made him even sicker, even though it had healed quickly. He'd wished that he would have known. He wouldn't have gone along with it then.

"-Okay-", Sirius spoke quickly, picking up a goblet , "-Maybe you are right- Maybe it was just nothing- But that still doesn't explain him coming out of the Forbidden forest- and why he hasn't told anyone -". 

"-Maybe your eyes were playing tricks on you-". James decided to rationalise . "-We had been scrubbing at brooms for ages-". 

"-My eyes work perfectly fine-", Sirius hissed, "-It was him. I know it -". Peter thought for a moment as Sirius and James began bickering, looking to Lupin again. 

"-....I don't know why he would be in the Forest... but I think I know why he wouldn't want to tell anyone-". Sirius and James stoped their arguement, bringing both of their attentions to Pettigrew, which was quite an alien thing indeed. "-I-If I was sick....I wouldn't want anyone to know....so they didn't treat me differently....-". James nodded his head a little, agreeing. "-I'd want to be seen like....everyone else....and blend in. Not stand out-". 

"-Well its hard for you not to stand out-". 

"-Sirius!-", Black froze, hearing the heavy seriousness in his friends voice, "-Peter is right....just give up-". And at the boys silent response, James had believed that he had listened to him, but he hadn't. He'd been forced to give up once that year already, and he wasn't going to do it twice. No. Potters words motivated him furthuer to discover the truth, and so he spent the rest of the day thinking, and thinking, even until that evening when he, James and Peter sat in the dorm as the door opened. 

"-Remus- Mate-", James spoke excitedly upon the sight of the Lupin, who paused at the kindness. 

"-James?-", he noticed Peter was smiling at him too-Yet Sirius just turned around, climbing into bed, which was the least surprising part of the interaction. "-Good evening Sirius-". He recieved no response as the blanket was thrown over his dark hair as he looked to his own bed. "-Who?....Who made my bed?-". Lupin had forgotten to do it that morning, and when he had left the blanket was bundled at the foot and pillows scrunched all the way up at the Headboard. 

"-Oh- That was Me-", smiled James. 

"-O....Okay-", Remus slipped off his shoes, "-Why did you do it?-". 

"-Because it was something nice to do-". There was an audioable groan that came from Sirius' bed.

"-Right-". Lupin could very much tell that they were acting strangely, and supposed that it was something to do with what Dumbledore had told them. But what ? Well that was a question unanswered. So he decided to be 'nice' back to Potter. "-That was a good Lumos you did today...um....proper... _wicked_ -". He almost felt like an old man trying to speak to a group of youngsters.

"-T'was wicked-", affirmed James with a jokingly regal voice, "-Yours was Pretty.... _bright_... too- and you Peter-". 

"-O-Oh....Thanks-", Pettigrew smiled, not knowing if James was just including him for the sake of it. 

"-Your welcome ....erm...ma-". 

"-MERLIN ON A STICK!-", their gazes snapped to Sirius bed as he arose like a vampire from a coffin, "-You sound like my Mother with the magical Ministers!- Speak normally!-". 

"-Well- erm-", James rubbed the back of his neck, "-We don't speak often...so its....a bit odd-". He fixed his glasses. "-No offence Remus-". Every other time they'd talked the conversation was only propelled forwards by Sirius making a remark at Remus, or starting an arguement. 

"-None taken-". He came to sit on his blanket. "-Besides....it isn't your fault that we haven't really spoken....-", Lupin gave a rather pointed looks to Sirius, who barred his teeth.

"-I hate you-", he uttered swiftly, before returning to his blanketed state. 

"-Thanks-", chuckled Remus sarcastically, to which both James and Peter did too, unaware of the stern glare that Sirius had upon his palm as his fist tightened. 


	39. The Knockback jinx

The theme of more practical lessons carried on into the students Defence Against the Dark Arts class, in which Professor Marquis stood infront of the First years as they formed a circle, whispering . They were seperated by the colourseof their ties, with Ravenclaws on the left and Gryffindoors on the right....not as though they had been placed as such. The students themselves had chosen to segregate themselves, as though two aposing armies of fresh, rosy little faces and giddy smiles, which had started the moment they had arrived to class that morning to find that class was not going to go on as usual. And Sirius squished in closer to James as Pandora and Caleb stood beside him, giving him a momentairy glance with opposing expressions. All of the desks in the room had been cleared away, stored in piles by each of the windows- and there was a selection of pillows piled across the space, covering any pointed objects or extremely hard surfaces that could cause any harm. Marquis wanted them to have fun, not end up visiting Madame Pomfrey . "-Today-", spoke the woman, annouciating her words in her usual bouncy way , "-We are going to be learning what is most commonly known as the 'Knockback jinx'-". Sirius cockily grumbled something with a proud smirk to James , being completely audioable to the people on each side of him. "-What was that Mr Black- I didn't quite catch it-". Remus rolled his eyes, relaying what he had said to Lily, who then told Alice and Mary.

"-I said I already know it, Miss...Mrs?-", he examined her fingers, "-Miss-". James chuckled at Sirius' observation. "-I learned it when I was eight. Its an easy spell-". A few students began to murmer with many distasteful looks to the proud boy. 

"-And who taught you?-", replied the woman, allowing him to speak instead of telling him off for voicing himself. 

"-My....Mother-", announced Sirius, seeming a little less....bold. 

"-Really?..... Well then you must demonstrait your....knowledge of this spell to the rest of the class -", she looked around the circle of students for an unsuspecting candidate , "-Miss Grimsby, come here for me please-". The First years whispered as the wispy girl stood forwards, coming beside the teacher with her pale hair tightly slicked back to her head, and ears tugged at by a set of slightly expensive looking earrings . "-Everyone else feather out-". Sirius watched as they all moved, with James seeming more hesitant then the rest, leaving Black directly across from the Ravenclaw girl. And Peter inched his way behind Potters shoulder, worried that someone was going to get hurt. "-Now students-", Sirius gave the woman a confused look as she began to pace back and forth, "-the Knockback _Jinx_ is an offensive Jinx that, as the name states, knocks the casters oponent back. However the distance of that is entirely dependant on the Wizards conviction and capability-". She tapped her heel on the ground for a moment, changing her tone a little to a more warning one. "-It can also knock the caster back too if they are not careful-". Sirius rolled his shoulders, making a show of twirling his wrist and streatching his arms- which made James lean forwards in anticipation. He knew that Black was capable with spells, and couldn't imagine how powerful his knockback would have been. He was sure that the girl was going to be shot right back across the class. "-When I count to three I would like both you, Mr Black, and Miss Grimbsy to cast-". 

"-At the same time?-", Sirius raised his wand, "-Okay?-". Pandora did the same as him, not at all seeming fazed. Actually she adversely looked quite bored, even taking a moment to yawn. "- Theres a good chance that I may knock you off of your feet- I'd aim to land in the pillows-". Sirius heard James laugh, giving him even more confidence in his situation. "-I am of course, a Black, and we are quite powerful-". 

"-Sirius isn't really going to cast at her- is he?-", worried Lily. 

"-I'd be more worried about that Black-", Caleb came to stand beside Lily and Remus, folding his arms, "-Evans and Lupin- right?-. 

"-Oh- Yes-", smiled Lily, folding her hands infront of her robes, "-You remembered-". 

"-Course'-", he chuckled, "-I've got a good memory-". 

"-What did you just mean, about Sirius?-", questioned James, having overheard them as Peter covered his ears prematurely, worried that the blast from the spells would make a loud noise. Such a thing could be added to his vast list of fears. 

"-My sisters a _wicked_ caster- and i'm not saying that lightly-", explained the boy, with a tone that made Remus ears twitch uneasily, "-She likes to practice spells- and she's tried to make a few of her own-". He pulled his sleave a little, showing a great scar on his forearm in the shape of a wing. "-Yet some of them aren't very...successfull-". 

"-You poor thing-", spoke Lily, examining the mark, "-She did that?-". 

"-The spell did-", he corrected, giving a sort of accused glare to Evans.

"-Ready-", Professor Marquis spoke cherpily, excited to see the outcome, "-One, Two....Three-". 

" _-FLIPENDO_!-", shouted Pandora before Sirius got the chance to think, and he yelped as he was shot backwards across the classroom into a bundle of pillows, resulting in an uproar of laughter as he embarissdely struggled to sit back up.

"-Told you-", remarked Caleb, to which Lily giggled. 

"-Very well done Miss Grimsby-", she praised, trying not to chuckle at the bewildered look on Blacks face, "-You see- Mr Black- despite having learned the spell, your....confidence.... prevented you from judging when the spell was going to be cast-". He stumbled to his feet. "-Now do not speak out again in my lesson when I am trying to teach-". 

Remus smirked. "-I like this teacher-". 

Sirius came trudging over, huffing when stood beside James who bit the insides of his mouth. "-Say anything and I'll kill you-". 

"-What-", Potter spoke with a rather squeaky voice, "-I wasn't going to say anything-". 

"-Now- did all of you catch the encantation and wand motion-", there was a collective nod from the class, who had gotten quite a bit of enjoyment out of watching Sirius Black fly through the air in a collection of curls, robes and humerous defeat. "-Great. Well- Miss Fortescue and Mr....Grimsby- you're up next-". Caleb and Alice excitedly made their way into the middle of their classmates to face eachother- and Grimsby knocked Alice easily off of her feet so that she landed right on her bottom, laughing. "-Perfect Mr Grimsby-", she looked around, then spotting James beside , "-Miss Evans-". Lily looked over. "-You and Mr Potter are next-". 

"-Yes-", James chuckled, "-You ready to go for a fly Evans-". Lily shook her head, making their way into the centre of the room to face James. 

"-Wands up-". They both raised their wands. "-And- go-". 

"- _Flipendo_!-", Lilys spell struck James in the torso, propelling him across the classroom and right into the space in which Sirius had fallen. 

"-Brilliant Miss Evans-", praised the Professor, to which Alice and Mary ran to the girls side, "-Very powerful-". The next paring was then Mary and Peter -and when Macdonald struck forwards with her spell, Peter yelped, dropping to the floor in a ball so that it hit the back window of the classroom, pushing the glass right out of the pane. 

"-Oops-", Mary lowered her wand, "-I didn't mean to do that-". 

Professor Marquis shook her head with a chuckle as Peter slowly came out of his safety ball. "-You are pathetic-", then hissed Sirius as he came back to stand with him and James. 

"-At least he didn't get hit-", disagreed James, "-You've got good reflexes-". 

"-No-", Black shook his head, "-He's just a coward-". 

/////////////

"-The Professor really got you to cast at eachother?-", asked Frank with a chuckle, "-Last year we had to practice on a box-". He'd been the first student up, and had managed to shoot the box so high up in the wrong direction that it landed on top of the Dragon skellingtons head like a hat. 

"-We did it on a slice of cake from the great Hall that the Professor made us bring ourselves - He was a right moody one-", aided Billius, who was scanning through a few pages of paper he had jotted down some notes on. He was overdue to start training with his team, and so was preparing to start that weekend. 

"-I got knocked right off of my feet- But Pandora Grimsby got her way with Sirius-". Black glared up at the Alice from his lunch. "-You should have heard him scream-". Mary and Daniel, who sat on the other side of the girl, laughed, sharing, now noticed by the table, the exact same dimples. 

"-Grimsby?-", Weasley finally looked up from his work, "-.....I wouldn't trust being on the other end of a Grimsby's spell-". 

"-Huh?-". The first year students looked to Billius as Dorcas removed her glasses, wiping at them with her sleeve. 

"-The Grimsby family are known for dabbling in all kinds of magic....making their own spells and things. Pretty dangerous stuff-". 

"-They make their own spell books-", added Dorcas, "-And sell them in Knockturn alley under the radar....though its only a roumor. But apparently their mothers locked up in Azkaban for some nasty business to do with the Muggleborn rights marches- my nan read it in the Prophet-". 

"-Muggle born rights marches?-", Alice gave a confused look to Frank. She'd never heard of them before - and it seemed as though both Daniel and Mary were in the same boat with that too.

"-Yeah- ", Meadows frowned, "-Don't you lot know about them?-". 

"-No?-". 

"-Wait....I think I do-", James spoke, "-My dad was there...I think - Theres a picture of him on the wall from the Prophet-". Sirius raised a brow at James, surprising by the information.

"...I was supposed to go too...but I s'pose I'm glad I didn't-". Billius furrowed his brows. "-People in hoods, duels....bloodshed....Its hard to imagine, like something out of a horror film -". Peter felt an uneasy chill dance its way up his spine. 

"-Worst part is the Ministry never caught any of em'-", Meadows glared at her plate, "-If I had the chance I would send all of them to an early grave- horrid ba-". 

"-Who?-". They looked over to see Marlene lingering behind a seat, who had attempted to shadow her eyes with a colour of electric blue that had seemed to smudge from her perch in the girls bathrooms to the Great Hall. And Dorcas snorted, causing the rest of the first years to burst into laughter too, with even Remus and Lily giving her smirk from further along the table. "-What?- Whats funny?-". 

"-Your face-!-", blurted Sirius, having completey forgotten that he was still sulking about being knocked off of his feet in Defense Against the Dark Arts, "-What happened?-". 

"-IT'S A FASHION TREND-", She raised her newest edition of witch Weekly, which had arrived by owl that morning, "-See- Page 29-". 

"-Where in Merlin did you get that makeup from?-", then asked Dorcas with a chuckle, moving over so the girl could sit down, holding her head high despite the collective laughter all about her. 

"-I might have knicked it...-". She changed her tone upon Meadows' face. "-....but i'll give it back-". 

Billius, who now seemed less amused, sighed. "-Who did you steal from Mckinnon-". 

"- _Borrowed_ -", she corrected slowly , "-And her- she left it out on the side-". They watched as she pointed to the end of the table with her thumb, where they could see a girl with quite flawless tanned skin and a head of wild pale curls that framed her large blue eyes, as she laughed at her friend pulling an appauling face. 

"-Woah-", Alice sat forwards, "-Who is she?- I've never seen her before...". 

"-That would be Augustine Featherly....who has finally decided us today instead of clinging to her boyfriend ....and has dyed her hair-", replied the girl, "-She's a 'traitor' in a sense- and she'll stab you in the back if you aren't careful-". Dorcas looked to Billius' frozen profile, opening out her palm- to which Marlene reluctantly handed over a makeup brush and eyeshadow from the pocket of her robes- And she stood, making her way to the end of the table, before holding the items out the girl, who furrowed her brows at the sight of them, fixing her Prefects badge . "-Marlene Mckinnon...borrowed this from you-". 

"-Really-", she folded her arms, examining the comical looking blone , "-Well tell her that its not really her colour-". The girl took the items, avoiding the glare she was getting from Dorcas. "-Glasses-", Featherly then spoke with a sarcastic sigh, "-Is that all you have to say?-". Her friends chuckled amongst themselves. "-I'm sure Weasley will be wanting you back-". 

"-Of course-", smiled Dorcas, turning away, "- _Perra_...".

Lily placed down her sandwhich with a look of horrible realisation falling over her face. "-Oh no- I forgot I was supposed to meet Sev-". She searched around the hall with her great green eyes, not seeing the boy anywhere. 

"-Well go and find him-", chuckled Remus, lifting a goblet, "-I won't stop you-". 

"-But we were talking-", she replied kindly, feeling bad for abruptly leaving . 

" _-But_ \- Severus is your friend, Lily-", affirmed Remus, even though he had been quite enjoying speaking with her. They'd been doing it more and more in recent days, sparking short conversations usually over things they would spot on the table. But he supposed that it was better than sitting in silence for the entire time as he had done at the start of the year- and Lily was a nice enoughgirl. 

"-Well....-", she stood slowly and thoughtfully, "-I thought....we were...maybe....friends too-". Remus paised, watching as she gave him one last smile before she rushed off, having half the temptation to call out Severus' name at the top of her little lungs. And Lupin couldn't help but feel a warmth grow in him, like the spark of a little flame that made him smile. Well, that was until he caught Sirius' eye. 

"-Yes?-". Yet the boy looked away before he got an answer. 


	40. Wedding rings and friends

Another Saturday morning arrived at Hogwarts with frosted windows and ever plummeting temperatures all around the school. And, as usual, James and Sirius had headed to Minerva's office, placing themselves down in the seats across from her. Yet she was particularly busy at that time, marking homework and such- and so the boys had to find ways of entertaining themselves, first recalling the rather atrocious makeup that Marlene Mckinnon had been parading around, to their explosive Potions incident. They even, muttered very quietly about in 'incident' that resulted in James not being able to speak and snot pouring at of Pettigrews nose, which then sparked even more conversations that grew increasingly louder until the woman couldn't think straight."-Boys-", Minerva looked up from her writing as James and Sirius quickly stopped their giggling , looking away from eachother, "-May I ask what is so funny?- I am sure detention is not this amusing-". Sirius and James both seemed hesitant to answer , before Black sat up straight. 

"-We were wondering how old Professor Dumbledore is-". Potter nodded quickly, sitting forwards. "-I mean....he must be quite old- Musn't he?-". He remembered Alice saying that he may have gone to Hogwarts in the 1890's. "-He looks quite old-".

"-That is a personal question-", answered the quite tired woman, placing her quill in its pot, "-Not to mention a personal question-". 

"-I'm only asking how old he is, not what underpants he wears-", pressed Sirius, sitting forwards in a business wizard like fashion- and Potter did the same. 

"-Teachers know all of our ages- so why can't we know theirs-". Sirius nodded his head quickly, to which Minerva folded her arms .

"-Even if I- on the vaugest- most _unlikely_ of chances would want to tell you two boys his age- I could not-", there was a slight bitterness to her words, "-I haven't got a clue myself-".

"-But don't all teachers know eachothers ages-". 

"-No, Potter-", she responded, with a sigh, "-Some people choose to keep information such as that private-". She then set to opening her drawer, taking out another pile of papers, which Black took a moment to examine. It seemed to be a selection of fifth year Homework, amongst which he spotted a familliar name- and he snatched the paper s as they were placed down on the desk. "-Mr Black-", Minerva leaned from it over the table as he scanned the page, "-Mr Black- that is an invasion of privacy and-". 

"-Is Narcissa failing transfiguration?...", he looked to the woman over the top of the paper, giving her ample time to snatch it back.

"-No- Mr Black- She is not-", returned the woman sharply, having not appreciated the manner in which he had snatched away the paper. 

"-But there's a lot of 'X's there-", the idea of Narcissa failing amused him slightly. 

"-Mr Black you should not have taken that paper in the first place-", she scolded, coming to place it right at the bottom of the pile, "-And that's enough questions- from the pair of you - unless they are either about lessons or any general educational concerns-". Her shoulders sank as James immediately raised his hand, making Sirius snigger. "-Yes?-". 

"-I think its educational -". 

"-Well-", she sighed, "-Go on then-". 

"-How old are you?-". Sirius's snigger turned into slightly loud laughter as the womans brow twitched.

"-How is that at all an educational concern?-". 

"-Well-", he started, "-I just thought about it- and if I don't know the answer then I will be thinking about it every time I see you- and then I won't be able to learn Professor-". 

Minerva seemed reluctant for a moment, before sitting up straight. "-I started Hogwarts in ninteen-fourty - eight , so work that out amongst the pair of you- and quietly-". She looked back down to her pile of papers, listening as the two boys began to whisper and count - and when she was half way through the pile, she spotted Sirius shift his chair forwards in her perpheral vision. "-Yes- Mr Black?-". 

"-I'm just having a look at you Professor-". She gave him a confused look, revealing a set of wrinkles on her forehead. "- And I think I've got it - you're....thirty....two...no....six- Thirty-six-". Minerva gave the boy a short nod. "-I got it!-". 

"-Nice one Sirius -", smiled James, who had still been trying to work it out- having lost count about three or four times. "-Wait....so then how old is my dad?-". He knew his dad was older than Thirty-six because his mother

"-Thirty-nine....almost I believe , Potter-", stated Minerva, before turning back to her work- yet she was disrupted again by Sirius staring at her, "-What is it now Mr Black?-". 

"-You have a ring?-". James now noticed the object, placed firmly on the womans finger. "-You're married?-". Minerva covered it with her sleeve, sitting up quickly with a look to a clock that ticked in one of the corner of the room. 

"-Look at that- Its time you two should make yourselves scarce -". Sirius glanced to James, who shrugged, quite glad to have gotten out of detention. And as both boys made their way out of the room, Minerva frowned, looking down to the ring that glinted and shimmered in a worn sort of way. 

///////////////

"-But you must agree that was strange-", spoke Sirius, who hadn't stopped wondering about the womans reaction, following along behind James who looked around the long and empty hallways, turning a few times after finding himself where he should not have been, "-No?-". 

"-I don't know Sirius-", replied James, "-And my mum says 'sometimes its better to wonder, than to know'-". 

"-Well I don't agree-", Sirius folded his arms, pausing after a moment after spotting a certain suit of armour with a dirty sheen, "-Um- Potter....we've been here before-". 

"-No we-", James spotted the suit too, frowning, "-Oh yeah....but I swear I walked in a straight line?-". 

"-Maybe we looped around?-", Sirius walked ahead, peering around the corner to see another hallway that looked quite awefully similar to the one they had already been walking on, "-Lets keep going-". So the boys continued walking and walking, coming to find after a while that they had ended even more lost than they had been before. "-This place is like a maze-", complained Black, "-How can it be this easy to get lost-". 

James chuckled, "-Maybe we're just bad with directions-". 

"-I am very good with directions-", returned Sirius firmly, "-Just its this school- its designed to confuse you-". 

"-I don't really think thats true-". 

"-Well it is now-". He sighed, slightly considering turning back to McGonagalls classroom and then starting the walk again- but he realised that he didn't know how to get back, which was admittedly frustraiting. "-Lets try again-". Both boys continued down the hallway, turning a few times until they found themselves at the top of the moving stairs- And they breathed a sigh of relief at the sight of students rushing backwards and forwards in flurries of laughter and joy, wrapped up warm . 

"-We should make a bloody map so we don't get lost again-", stated James, waving his hands over the air in a grand manner, "- _Black and Potter presents , the Hogwarts Map_ -".

Sirius, despite how silly his friends title had sounded, thought that making a Map would have been quite brilliant. "-That sounds like a good idea actually-". He was sure that they would have been the first people to make a map- and they'd get to explore the school by doing it. "-It could be our _secret_ Map-". 

"-Really?-", returned Potter, who had been slightly joking. Yet as he thought it again, and the factor of it being his and Sirius' secret Map, he couldn't have agreed more. "-Brilliant....just....how do we make a map?-". 

"-Um....draw....rooms...-", spoke Sirius unconvincingly . He'd never thought about making a map before. He just supposed that you drew a load of shapes and lines, hoping for the best outcome. He'd actually only seen a map once before, and it wasn't a very simple one. 

"-There's gotta' be all this technical stuff though-", James continued, "-Like actual directions....and lables...and it can't look bad. We have to make it the best Map possible -". Black shrugged. "-....I suppose we should ask someone....someone smart-". 

"-I'm smart-", stated Sirius. 

"-Then someone smart-er-", chuckled James. 

"-Well-", Sirius made for the stairs, "-We'll never know the answer then-". 

/////

Severus sunk into the tattered greyed scarf that hung around his neck as he trudged across the grounds behind Lily, who skipped along, telling him all about her week with her woolen coat crunching. "-And you should have seen James when I shot him back- I think his glasses nearly fell off-", she chuckled at the Memory, to which Severus frowned. It was quite unlike her. Well...unlike the Lily he was used to. 

"-I thought you didn't like people hexing eachother-", he walked a little faster, coming to be by her side. 

"-It was a Jinx-", Evans corrected, "-And nobody got hurt. There were pillows and everything-". She sunk her cold hands into her pockets, feeling a chill nip her nose almost as red as her hair. "-It was quite fun actually...I felt really strong- and James took it better than Sirius did-". Severus stopped walking, being followed by Lily a few moments after. "-Sev?- Whats the matter?-". 

"-You keep talking about James Potter and Sirius Black-", he returned, "-Can you talk about something else?-". 

"-Oh-", Lily frowned, having not at all realised, "-Well I was only telling you about my week-". She brushed some hair behind her ear, seeing that Severus did not really care for her answer. "-W-Well also I learned about Witch Weekly with Alice and Mary-", the girl started, "-They were showing me the articles last night, and telling me about anything I didn't understand. But It reminded me of Petunia a bit , especially all the pages with the makeup and stuff-".

"-Makeup makes girls look like clowns-", remarked Severus, getting a little giggle out of Lily. 

"-I suppose so. Oh you should have seen Marlene the other day- she had bright blue eyelids-". 

"-Marlene?-", Severus winced his eyes, seeming quite confused. 

"-She's the blonde second year- quite tall-". Her explanation didn't seem to help at all. "-Maybe you could meet her - you could sit with me at Lunch one time. I normally sit with Remus, but I'm sure that he wouldn't mind-". 

"-And sit near Sirius Black-", the boy shook his head. 

"-If he says anything to you i'll give him a good telling off-", she stated confidentally, "-I promise-". Lily examined him . "-Unless you'd like to sit with your new friends more- which is fine-". 

"-New friends?-", Snape frowned, "-Who?-". 

"-At the Slytherin table- I see you talking to them-". Severus, after a moment, realised that the 'friends' Lily was reffering to was Mulciber, Malfoy and Sirius Blacks cousin- none of which he would consider 'friends'. Not even aquaintances. The only reason he sat with them was because Malfoy had invited him over, most likely in an attempt to play the act of 'caring Prefect' in front of his fiance.

"-They aren't....they aren't my friends Lily- you're my friend-", he stepped towards her sincerily , "-My _only_ friend.....your the only one that I want-". Severys stared into her eyes. "-Aren't I your only friend too-". 

Lily , in a moment of panic, nodded. "-Of course Sev-". Severus was her best friend, and he would always be her best friend. She was sure about it- and she didn't want to accidentally upset him by suggesting anything otherwise. "- _Always_ -". Yet as she spoke she felt a little guilty, remembering what she had said to Remus in the Great Hall. "- You are my _best_ friend-", she continued , "-my only _best_ friend-". Snape didn't follow. "-....I can have other friends Severus...-". 

Snape wrinkled his brows, not at all liking the way she had said his full name. "-Why would you want other friends?- you have me, Lily- You don't need anyone else-".

"-I...-". She watched as his gaze slowly raised, and she turned, spotting a group of elder slytherin boys who laughed , with Mulciber at their centre, staring at the two first years. "-What are they laughing about?-". 

"-I don't know-", lied Snape quickly, grabbing Lilys arm, "-Come on- lets go inside-".


	41. Baby its cold outside

With the cold weather that had descended so sharply upon Hogwarts, it was no surprise that one morning the students of the school awoke to fine the entirety of the school grounds blanketed in a thick sheet of white, that shimmered against the sun as it peaked out from greyish clouds. The trees, once bare, now had snowflake dressings, and any sign of plant life that had resided close to the ground had died. James, Sirus and Peter stumbled down the steps of the castle, half-dressed, before bursting out onto the grounds where students already played, throwing balls back and forth in their warm jackets, hats and Scarves. And Potter sported a rather red look, making sure that his hat, gloves and coat all matched the tone of Gryffindoor crimson."-Look how much of it there is-", exclaimed the boy diving into the thickest part he could spot to wave his arms and legs about, forming the first 'Potter' angel of the winter season, "-And its so deep too- nothing like Godrics Hollow-". Sirius took a handful of snow up into his palm, alowing it to melt a little against the warmth of his skin, that turned red after a moment. When he was still at Grimmauld place , Sirius was never aloud out when it snowed. As with the summer , the Muggle children from the surrounding homes would always be swarming about, playing in the chilly white, and Walburga Black would have never let them near such creatures. Not that it had ever bothered Sirius much before. "-Its proper winter now-". Peter went to take a step forwards, slipping over onto his bottom on an icy patch, and both James and Sirius burst into laughter. Well that was until Sirius found himself with a mouthful of snow. 

"-Nice shot Marlene -", Frank chuckled , patting the girl on the shoulder as she reeled back her arm, "-But I said aim for his shoulder or something-". Sirius wiped his face with his sleeve as James struggled to stand, his stomach aching with laughter. 

"-Well his heads so big its hard to miss-", she returned , squealing as Sirius kicked a good amount of snow towards her, instead hitting Franks bottom. 

"-You are now Frank Snowbottom-", chuckled Sirius pointing. 

"-Good one Sirius-", James returned. 

"-Oh you two are dead-", James and Sirius sprinted off as Frank bent over, collecting a healthy amount of snow into his arms that he ran with, leaving Peter all alone by the entrance to the castle, watching everyone run around and have fun. And he felt a little....well, unincluded. 

"-Snowbottom- Snowbottom!-", teased Sirius as him and James sprinted, jumping over mounds of discarded snow or little snow-men. Yet Black didn't estimate the height of one particular half-built snowman, and as James easily leapt over it, he was flipped right onto his back, sprawling out like a defeated starfish. "-Ow-". 

"-Not so fast now are you - Starfish Black -", Frank came to stand over him, opening his arms so that all of his remaining snow ( which had not melted on the way over ), thumped down onto the boys face, turning his attention to the howling James, who's entire face was now a jolly red, "-I don't know what you're laughing about Potter- You're ne-". A snowball thumped Longbottom right on the bridge of his nose, sending him toppling over. 

"-Sorry!-", Alice ran over, followed by Mary and Lily, who giggled , having been talking about all the fun Muggle things they did in the snow when they were just ickle things- which they both came to find were quite similar. 

"-Godric-", exclaimed James as Sirius yet again found himself wiping snow from his face, "-You have a strong arm Fortescue-". 

"-You've broken my nose-", whined Frank jokingly , sitting up, "-They're gonna' have to cut it off and everything-". Alice crouched down, to which he recolied his head a little, staring wide eyed as her fringe practically brushed his forehead. 

"-Ah you're fine-", she chuckled, shoving him back, "-'You'll be better before your married'- thats what my mum says-". Mary laughed as Alice stood , now towering over Longbottom.

"-What happened?-", Marlene appeared from seemingly nowhere, having gotten caught up in another snow battle until she spotted her friend lying on the ground with Fortescue practically climbing on him.

"-Sirius did a flip and Alice knocked Frank flat on his back-", Potter put it bluntly, trying not to laugh again for fear he may have exploaded.

"-I meant to flip on purpose-", Sirius jumped to his feet, rubbing his freezing cold nose, "-I jumped-". 

Marlene looked him up and down, noticing his smart coat and suit trousers all covered in snow. "-Sure looks like it-". 

"-I did-", he folded his arms. 

"-Mhm-". 

"-What do you mean by 'mhm', Mckinnon!-". As Sirius began to argue, James watched Lily crouch down, brushing a mound of snow towards herself- and so, curious, he made his way to her side, watching for a moment before deciding to announce his presence . 

"-Evans-". She didn't answer him. "-Evaaaaaans-", he kneeled down beside her, lifting up her hair so that he could speak right into her ear, "-Evans- Evans- Evans....". 

"-....Yes?-", she finally returned through gritted teeth. James Potter could sure be annoying when he wanted to. 

"-Oh thank Godric- I thought you'd gone deaf-". She raised an eyebrow at him. "-What?- What have I done?-".

"-You still haven't apologised- so I have decided....to ignore you", returned the girl, continuing working on her snowy.....blob. 

"-For what-". Lily picked up a stick, tracing lines into it. "-What have I done?-".

"-The Qudditch try outs-", She paused, not much holding true to her 'ignoring' of James Potter. 

"-You aren't annoyed about that are you?-", returned James, "-I didn't even say anything to you- Sirius did- and he was only immitating you-". They both took a moment to look over to the boy who stomped his foot on the ground, glaring at Mckinnon as Frank laughed at him. 

"-But you laughed-" . 

"-Well he did do it spot on-". She glared at him. "-Okay....I'm sorry for laughing at Sirius making fun of you- And I _might_ not ever do it again-". He smiled a wide, cheeky sort of smile, that pushed his glasses up on his nose and made his eyes all squinty.

"- _Might_?-". 

"-Well-", he spoke , watching her now stab the blob of snow, "-Can't make any promises like that. Sirius can be funny sometimes-". 

"-He can also be rotten too-", returned Lily a little sourely . 

"-Well yeah....but you sort of learn to....ignore it-", chuckled James, "-Over time its just part of Sirius- Ya' know....".

"-You say that like you two have known eachother forever-". 

Potter them smiled a little seriously. "-Weirdly....it feels like we have-", he then looked to her creation, "... is that the blob?-". 

Lily scoffed. "-No- its not that-", yet she paused, "-....you know what the Blob is?-". 

"-'Course-". James' dad had made him watch the movie after finding it in a Muggle shop, and he'd gotten nightmares for about a week that the blob was going to get him after. "-My dad loves all sort of Muggl-y stuff- and my Mum she likes learning about it too, so I know my Muggl-y things-". James smiled. "-I also like Muggl-y music, like the beatles- and Mum likes older muggl-y music too-". 

"-My Dad has beatles posters in his office-", she chuckled- and had just been about to elaborate further when Alice spoke. 

"-Where's Remus?-". Sirius stopped his bickering (even though Marlene had stopped listening a long time prior, examining her nails). 

"-Sleeping-", James announced wearily. He'd considered waking Remus up that morning to ask him to join them, but he spotted a pained look on the boys face- and watched him toss and turn a little as Sirius eagerly dressed himself. He was slightly worried that he was feeling sickly, and.... wondered just what type of ill Remus was. The boy seemed entirely uncomfortable.

"-On a snow day?-", Frank stated in an appauled way, "-The only things that sleep on snow days are plants-". 

"-Correction-". Longbottom yelped, practically jumping into Alices arms as the sound of Xenophilius Lovegoods voice. "-They're very much dead-". 

"-Jesus-", Marlene examined the boy. He was clearly not dressed for the weather, wearing a thin, flowy white top covered in embroidered flowers, and earthy toned slacks that barely covered his shins. "-Hippie alert-". 

"-Xenophilius?- where are your shoes-", James noticed the boys red toes crunching into the snow, "-You'll get chillblains-". Evans nodded. She'd gotten them when she was younger after spending the day playing in the snow with Petunia. They were completely horrible.

"-My shoes went missing-", he stated, furrowing his brows, "-I don't know how....I suppose I should really think about that...-". Mckinnon spun her finger by her ear. "-But I do prefer being bare footed. Helps you feel things. Like if I had on my shows-", the boy wriggle his toes, "-Then I wouldn't be able to feel the cold- you know-". He then slowly, hauntingly turned to stare at Lily. "-Wow- Red looks really nice in the snow-". 

She took a strand of her hair into her hand, surprised by the compliment. "-Why thank yo...-". 

"-Like blood -". There was a slight silence that descended upon them for a moment, before the boy gave them one last faint smile, turning around- and as he did Marlene couldn't help but burst into laughter. 

"-I swear that boys batty-".

"-That we can agree on-", nodded Sirius, "--Longbottom- I've never seen you move so quickly-". 

"-Its because he's scared of Lovegood-", explained Marleene with a chuckle. 

"-Yeah-", Sirius looked to her out of the side of his eye, "-Probably because he looks like you-". 

James turned his attention back to Lily, having forgotten what they'd been speaking about. "-Oh yeah- what was I saying?-". 

"-You were wondering if my l _ovely_ stag is the blob-". 

"-Thas' it-", James chuckled, "-And its a stag.....I kind of see it-". 

"-See what?-", Sirius wondered, now noticing his friend conversing with Evans.

James pointed. "-Lilys stag-". 

"-That?-", Sirius snorted, "-I recon half the blind wizards in St.Mungo's could do a better job than that-". Potter sniggered, stopping himself quickly- but it was too late. 

"-Ugh- ", she stood, "-I suppose you could do a better job-". And she stomped away, quickly chased after by Alice and Mary as Sirius waved her away with the tips of his red fingers, smirking. 

"-C'mon Sirius-", James nudged him, "-That was cruel-". 

"-What was cruel was lying to ginger-", he pointed, "-That looks more _stagnant_ than stag-". To make it even worse, the twig that she had stabbed into its head drooped sadly. "-Even it agree's-". 

/////////////

When they returned to the common room later that day, James and Sirius found Remus rested up before the fire alone, reading through a book, with Peter sat across the room in one of the smaller chairs, rubbing his hands together for warmth. "-Pete-", James called to the boy, who gave him a smile, "-Where did you go?-". 

"-I-It was cold-", he lied, "-So I came inside-". 

"-You missed out on a bunch of fun-", replied Marlene, "-Sirius is now an acrabat and Longbottom would be a shoddy boxer-". 

Remus pulled an amused face behind his book at the idea as Black thumped heavily onto the same sofa as him, causing a loud squeaking sound. "-Would you be more careful when you sit down-", returned Remus , feeling his teeth gritting. It was the worst noise he had ever heard, made even worse by his....situation at that current point. His head was pounding, like a little person was banging on the inside of his skull. And Sirius instead took this as an invitation to do it again, making Lupins neck do a funny twitch. "-Sirius- I said stop-".

"-Stop what-", he returned coyly, "-The sofa squeaking? I'm only moving-". 

"-Don't mind him Remus-", Marlene lounged over a seat for two, refusing to move her legs so that Frank was forced to sit on a stall beside her, "-He's just carrying his fat arse ego-".

Sirius leaned over the back of the chair, flicking some droplets of water onto the pages of Remus' book from his hair. And Lupin locked his jaw, lowering it down. "- Shut up Mckinnon you ....you....G-i....Gig---art-". Marlene burst out into laughter.

"-WHAT?-". 

"-Did you mean Giraffe?-". This set off Frank, James and even Peter- Yet Remus was still too annoyed from the water on his book to find it funny. 

"-So what If I did?-", he glared at them, "-Its a stupid muggle animal any way with a long neck-". 

"-Sounds like my dad-", commented Marlene again, making the laughter grow ever louder- and Sirius had half the temptation to argue up a storm, if he had not suddenly imagined a male version of Marlene with a super long neck that wound about and wobbled- And so he laughed too. Yet they all fell sharply silent at the sound of Remus slamming his book shut, wincing. 

"-Lupin?...-", James watched the boys stand. 

"-Sorry...headache-", and he covered his ears, making his way up stairs just as Sirius looked to the door to the common room. 

"-Do you lot hear that-". 

Potter frowned, watching Remus' form dissapear up the stairs. "-Hear what?-". 

Sirius stood, carefully making his way towards the door. "-It sounds like-". Yet before he could finish the door burst open with a flurry of music and the smell of...chocolate. 

"-ALRIGHT YOU GRIMEY GRYFFINDOORS!- GOT SOMETHING FOR YOU LOT!-", Billius called at the top of his lungs over the music, which was rather melancholy compared to his excited tone. and the words to it went something like 'Baby its cold outside'. Yet Sirius couldn't really hear it over the sound of the students who had been in their rooms rushing down stairs, just as Alice, Lily and Mary returned, coming to see a small group of house elves and Dorcas bring in trays of a hot brown liquid. And they placed it on the tables around the room. "-IT'S HOT- ITS SWEET!- IT'S THE BEST WAY TO CONCLUDE A SNOW DAY!-". Dorcas shook her head at him as he held....what Sirius could only describe as a muscial box over his head. "-AND ITS A SECRET - SO PLEASE DON'T TELL MCGONAGALL- SHE'LL KILL ME-". There was a collective flurry of laughter that circulated the room as students took up a drink for themselves, thanking Billius kindly-And Sirius came over, peering into the mugs. 

"-What in Salazaars name is that?-". 

"-Hot chocolate-", smirked James, taking a gulp for himself, "-And its goooood-". The boy seemed to melt as he spoke. 

"-Hold on- wheres Lupin?-", Billius looked around, "-He was here when I left-". 

"-Said he had a headache-", announced James, with a frown. 

"-Oh...well he can't miss out-", Billius picked up a mug, handing it to Sirius, "-Take that to him would you-". 

"-Me?-".

"-Sirius?-", squeaked James at the same time, which Sirius took slight offense too. 

"-What?-", he returned to James, "-You don't think I can carry a hot drink up steps?-". 

"-No- Just....", Billius gave James a strange sort of smile- and Potter realised that he'd chosen Sirius on purpose, "-No- I don't-". He smirked. "-I recon' you couldn't-". 

"-Well- I can-", he stomped away defiantly , "-Watch me!-". And James did watch him. He watched the boy until he could see him no longer, before he turned his attention to Billius. 

"-You gonna' tell me why you sent Sirius?-". 

Billius smirked. "-Just felt like it-", he lied, turning away. 

Sirius muttered to himself in an irritated way all the way to the dorm room, and even more when he entered. Well that was until he spotted Remus, flumped half on the end of his bed and on the ground like a discarded blanket. "-Lupin?-", the boy groaned into his matress, "- you know the floors cold-". Yet Sirius didn't much like the lack of response he got. "-Hello- I'm talking to...-". He suddenly felt something strange. It was a new sort of....sensation. It wasn't of guilt....or anger. It was something else. Something overwhelming. And he didn't really know what to say or do in the presence of it. Well, that was until he thought of....what James would do. "-....A...-", he struggled to get the words off of his tongue, "-Are y-you...o-". 

"-I'm fine-", returned Remus snappily, "-Godric - that was more painful to listen to than this headache-". 

Sirius glared at the boy. "-I was only asking you someth....-", his words escaped him as Remus looked to him, a vein pulsating on his forehead, "-...Salazaar.....". His skin had turned deathly pale and eyes darkly rimmed. He truely did look sick. 

Remus glanced to the drink in Sirius' hand, then back at the boy, allowing his features to settle. "-...Could you....help me....please...". 

Sirius teetered there, looking to the door, and then to Remus. "-....How....?-". 

"-I....I need to go to Madame Pomfrey....-", he lied, glancing to the window as the sun began to get quite low, "-Now...-". 

"-We'll you're going to get far melted into your bed like that- aren't you-", returned Sirius sarcastically with a smirk. 

"-Sirius - i'm not joking...I'm serious-". 

"-Actually....I am-", returned the boy again, receiving a glare, "-....Alright....not funny...-". Remus then watched him set across the room to the chest at the end of his bed. "- There is no way on earth i'm dragging you across the castle, Scarface-". Sirius hesitated his hand over one of his robes. "-....So....If you tell anyone about this.... I'll kill you-". Remus shifted a little, and so Black began to quite...vaguely explain himself. "-.......My brother used to get wicked headaches after he had nightmares...-", he sifted around in his chest, taking out one of the bouncing bulb tea pouches that Hagrid have given him, "-And this is going to taste like....goblin piss-". 

"-Great-", returned Remus, watching the boy plop the bag into the hot chocolate, "-Why are you giving me that anyway- I just need to get to Pomfrey...or better yet...just drop me by the common room door if anything... I don't want to get poisened as well as having a headache-". Remus had already felt the 'wrath' of Sirius Black when he had thrown himself down a flight of stairs. He didn't want to test his luck again.

"-I'm not going to poison you-", he looked to Remus, trying to channel as much 'James' as he could, "-I'm not a murderer-". 

"-Very convincing-", grumbled Remus, burying his head into his blanket. Yet the scent of the chocolate from the hot drink seemed to grow greater, making his nose twitch eagerly and mouth begin to salivate.

"-Look-", Sirius stomped over, holding the mug out to Remus, "-Lets just agree that I don't like or trust you- and you don't like or trust me- and we can forget this happened-". 

"-Forget that I had to ask _Sirius Black_ for help?-", Remus looked to the liquid, "-I might _proclaim_ it to the school-". He narrowed one eye, taking a close inspection. "-Unless I die first-". 

"-You know what- I may just take the drink back -". Remus gulped it quite animalistically before the boy could even get near to grabbing for the drink , pulling a rather horrified expression that made Sirius smirk. It was the only enjoyment he would get out of that entire situation.

"-EUGH- YOU REALLY HAVE POISENED ME-". 

"-No I haven't you lanky idiot. Its bouncing bulb tea bags- they help soothe headaches-". Remus' eyes darted up as his spikes of hair began to bob atop his head. "-And they do that too-". After a moment, the previously disgusted Lupin chuckled, feeling the thumping of his head fade further and further by the second. Sirius really hadn't tried to poison him, or trick him. He'd actually.....helped. Maybe not in the way he had been asked...but he'd helped nonetheless.

"-Now-", Black looked away from him, rasing his nose in a regal manner, "-I suppose you don't still _require_ assistance-". Lupin bobbed his head, standing, to which Black snappily turned away. And Remus stared at him as his dark hair shimmered in the smallest inklings of sunset that passed their way into the room, wiping some chocolate away from atop his lip.

"-Thank you...-". Sirius paused midway through the door, feeling a horrid cold sort of feeling come over him. "-...that was...actually....helpful...". He could almost feel his mothers fingers, as he had once before that year, digging into his shoulder. Holding him in place . And he allowed it, after a moment, to guide him away in utter silence. 


End file.
